For Which I Have To Howl
by raehex
Summary: Werewolves exist. They are not the creatures of classic horror films, they are not a Halloween costume. They roam around us, hidden in plain view, trying to live, trying to love, just like anyone else. And Dean Ambrose is one of them. [Werewolf AU. Dean/OC. M for smut, language, and some horror/angst drama.]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **So this is another one I had to edit, which, once again, my fault for missing some stuff in the content guidelines! I know a lot of people liked this one, so I'm sorry it went poof for a bit, but it's back, and edited, and this one is still my baby, so be gentle with it!

* * *

She had grown up hearing the warnings, to "fear those type of men who would reach inside you and feast upon your heart." Her mother had meant it as metaphor, to pay heed to those men around her who would use her kindness against her, who would kiss her with lips chapped by promise and fallacy. She had never meant the literal; the type of man who could break through skin and sternum and feast upon blood and flesh. This was never a thing to worry about, it was only the tales of nightmare, of horror film, of Halloween costumes.

Nothing could have been farther from the truth.

She had found this man, or rather, he had found her. His appearance had been innocuous enough; sand-colored curls haphazardly strewn about his head, a chiseled jawline, eyes that were blue-green-gray, and a disarming smile, complete with a hint of dimple. He gave the appearance of the guy your friends could drink with, but could also clean up and be the charming young man your grandmother always wanted you to be with.

He was also a monster. Literally. She had seen his strength the night he found her, she had seen him threaten to rip her attacker limb from limb, tossing him across the alley as if he were a mere plaything, and the way his voice had sounded, much more rough and visceral than the slight rasp he had when he had greeted her in the bar earlier that evening. He had saved her, and in turn, she couldn't escape the knowledge that the real world was not as mundane as many would hope to believe. The supernatural existed, and she ended up falling in love with one of its kind. This was no longer the territory relegated to Lon Cheney, werewolves existed, and one of them was named Dean Ambrose.

* * *

She had fallen into the flow of this new lifestyle, living more towards the country than she would have initially liked. This was their "vacation" home, as she let others believe. For the majority of the month, they'd live in the apartment in the city, but they would plan a weekend getaway, so to speak. They all coincided with the fullness of the moon; it didn't always land on a weekend, and when it was the middle of the week, that's when it was the worst, but he tried to hold off for her.

He and his friends had gone out for a quick run, but she knew that could mean hours if they decided to hunt, or if they just played around like giant puppies, nipping at each other's heels, releasing the tension of human form, even for just a small amount. She had grown to love the sight of the clear night sky, the moonlight glinting through her window, the cool night breeze, and the distant sound of howling.

She also grew to know what would come afterwards. After the painful reformation of skeleton and psyche, the return from the wolf to the man, while one hunger had been sated, another would crawl its way forth. The wolf would only be hiding, but its power still exerted itself, and she would find herself become prey.

The first night it had happened, he had tried to warn her, coaching her through it, apologizing when he would eventually lose his focus, lose his control, and let the animal take over. She knew better now, knew how to take it, knew how to allow that instinct to roll over her, envelop her, and when she heard a howl in the distance, she instinctually found her body responding in kind, wetness growing between her legs.

She had made sure to not wear any perfumes, because all he wanted was to smell her when he'd make his way through the door. He would smell of pine trees, of sweat, and in some instances, she'd get the copper tang of blood. She also had started stripping, having gotten down to just her bra and panties. She was prepared; she was ready.

She heard another howl, closer this time, and she couldn't help herself. It wasn't the howl itself, but the understanding behind it, but either way her hand had found its way south, and she felt for herself just how slick she had become, soaking through her panties.

"What are you doing."

She looked up, and he closed the door behind him, wearing nothing but jeans slung low upon his hips. He's covered in sweat, his hair falling in his face, and voice still broken from the shift.

She moved her hand away, and one moment he's across the room, the next he's on his knees, his face inches away from where she was warm and wet. He took a deep breath, rubbing his cheek into her thigh, and moans to himself. "I could smell you from outside you know. You always smell so fucking good, you don't understand, baby…" He nips at her leg, and she bit her lip at the feeling. This was always the best part.

His fingers hook into the top of her panties and slip them off of her legs, tossing them behind him as he lunged forward, grabbing her legs and pulling her closer to him, burrowing his face between her thighs. He lacked finesse, not for lack of trying; he is feasting upon her, there is no skill in devouring a person. He is drinking her down, nipping at her lips, making slight suction against her clit, digging nails deeply into her ass. She heard him growl, losing himself in the feel of his tongue inside her, and she felt herself follow down into the pleasure of him attacking her with his mouth.

It takes only a few more licks against her to have her come hard, bucking against his face, crying out and clawing at the bed. He brings his head up, mouth still wet from her, his eyes having returned to the gold of the wolf.

"On your hands and knees."

She nods, turning herself over on uneven legs and shaking arms, hearing the soft thump of clothing hit the floor. She feels the warmth of his body before she can actually feel him against her, that unnatural heat radiating off of him, keeping her warm in the nights that are getting ever colder. He fumbles with the back of her bra, and before she can offer to take it off, she feels it torn off. _There goes another one in the trash_.

She feels him hard against her, rubbing against her ass, and then he's shifting position, sliding his way inside her with one hard thrust. He wraps her hair around his hand loosely, the other finding safety along her hip bone, and begins thrusting into her, hard and fast and deep. She knows that the softer sex will be later, when he's calmed down and become more human, but for now she can't help but gasp out broken moans as he takes her roughly. She makes a request, the same one that she asks every time and had been turned down for every time: to have him bite her when he comes. She knows it's not a matter of him fearing turning her, she's asked and it doesn't work like that, not like this. She knows that it's his fear of hurting her, but it's all she needs to make this complete.

She's shocked when he says yes.

He moves his hand away from her hair, instead choosing to wrap his arm around her chest, hand scratching roughly against her shoulder, the other arm snaking its away around her waist. He's pulling her onto him, burying himself inside her with every thrust, and all she can feel is the warmth of his body against her back, across her chest, and deep within her. It's as if anything she had found mundane in her life was being burned away, the more he was inside of her, the more changed she had become. With the way that he's pulling her onto him, steadily losing rhythm, and the way that he's grunting, she knows what's coming. That final thrust, the hard bite against her neck…

She falls over that edge for the second time that night, and then there are teeth against the crook of her neck, biting down hard, breaking skin. His mouth breaks away, nearly howling as he shoots inside her, just as hot as his skin. She feels his hands gripping at her hips, nails digging in deeply, and he holds her in place, as he whimpers out the aftershocks. She feels a trickle of some warmth against her neck, and she remembers that the bite broke skin. She knows she's bleeding, but it's nothing nearly enough to be worrisome.

His head rests against the back of her neck, breathing heavily, when he picks up the smell of blood. He very gently licks at the wound of his own creation, still unable to form words. The whimper he makes is all she needs; she knows that he's apologizing. He pulls out of her slowly, and lies down, still holding onto her, making her lay down too. He curls up against her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She knows she should probably take a shower, she is probably covered in more bodily fluids than is sanitary, but his happy humming against her body, the warmth of his skin, and the exhaustion of what happened hits her, and she instead falls asleep in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke up, cold, naked, and curled up around her. Cold for him was comfortable for all of those around him, but when your body temperature runs higher than normal, you tend to look at everything as colder than yourself. He felt her breathing, even and deep, and felt the impact of everything hit his bones at once. He still felt the moon and its tides crashing against his mind, each wave washing away the anxieties, felt the tremor of its glow vibrating under his skin. Like all hungers, what was sated would not last; he'd need to go through all of this again. But for now, he was so tired, and so sore, and a hot shower seemed like the best idea.

He pulled away slowly, feeling the stiffness in his joints, gently making his way off of the bed as to not disturb her sleep. He padded his way across the bedroom, creeping into the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a nearly silent click. Before making his way to the shower, he caught his reflection in the mirror. He could see the bags under his eyes, from the nights approaching this weekend, where he fought against his primal side teasing him, tempting him, that one night early wouldn't hurt, that it would be ok if he just went for a quick run. He saw the golden stubble on his face, which seemed to laugh in the face of a razor around this time. His eyes were some murky darkness, stuck between the range of his regular colors, and the honeyed amber of the wolf. He was a wreck; hair still damp from sweat, askew on his head in thin tendrils, the taste of her blood and her wetness still on his lips.

If he focused any more on that, he'd have a bigger problem on his hands than sore muscles.

He felt his brain start to go fuzzy again, and tore his eyes away from the mirror. He moved towards the shower, turning the faucet knobs to make a hot blast of water, steam forming quickly in the room. He stepped under, the instant sting of the water a welcome distraction from the low, consistent buzz in his brain that accompanied the full moon. He just stood there for a few moments, letting the heat both scald his skin and work at the knots in his shoulders. Sure, shifting back into human form was painful, there was no getting used to that, no matter how long it's been since your first shift, but he wished that his muscles at least could reform without those damn knots in them. As if he wasn't in enough pain as is.

The heat of the water was still a nice distraction, letting him worry about mundane things for once, and not the fear of hurting her; his brain always worked its way back to it. It was part of his nature to hurt, to destroy, to devour. He was a hunter, not born but _created_ as such, and he had adapted to this new role in his life with ease. You sort of had to when you were turned so young. In order to survive, he had to learn to fight, and to win. When the thought of a fight, even a playful one with his brothers, would arrive, he'd instantly become the young scrapper he was back in Cincinnati, face and clothes covered in blood, with a grin guided by madness plastered on his face.

But now? Now…now he fought to keep up his strength, for the moments he'd pray to never happen, if he were a praying man. He needed to protect her; he felt it was his duty, despite her protestations that "I don't need you to protect me like I'm some fragile thing." Compared to him, she _was_ fragile. She could simply fall into dust in his hands if he even slipped up once, body crumbling in on itself like a dried flower. How could he _not_ keep protecting her, especially how he had found her?

It had been about two years ago, a warm evening in the Indian Summer that seemed to plague the East Coast every now and then. He had been travelling to visit a long lost friend, which had ended up in a night out on the town, "for old times sake." A different city, and yet they were still in their comfort zone: food, beer, and belligerence of the best kind. He had stayed by the bar while his friend had found some tail to chase, and he decided to let his senses sharpen again, just to see what he could feel. He usually kept to either the Midwest or the West Coast, the East was too volatile, between the hurricanes of the mid-Atlantic and the blizzards of the Northeast, but here he was, watching the trees turn their famed autumn shades, smelling the last barbecues fade into smoke, all mixed with the city smells of exhaust, alcohol, sweat, and that low thrumming tension that kept everything running. There was a definite taste to the air on the East that couldn't be replicated nor described if you didn't have those senses. It was a tragedy to think of its inhabitants, ignorant of their own surroundings.

He took a deep breath in, letting his lungs get the fill of that strange, foreign Northeast air, since he otherwise avoided it like the plague. As he let it out, raising his glass to his lips, he saw _her_. She was sitting alone, looking at her phone on and off, each time with more irritation, eyebrows furrowed together as she would flip through some app he couldn't see. Her drink had sat nearly untouched, the glass starting to sweat down towards the coaster on the bar. He placed his drink down, the alcohol untouched, and watched her, becoming in this moment more wolf than man, making sure he'd remain unnoticed.

It wasn't for any devious reasons, he just honestly was curious about her, and he needed something more than a glass of bourbon to keep him occupied. As he looked towards the door, and back towards the person of his interest, he noticed some stereotypical bro trying to put his arm around her, in some drunken attempt at wooing her. It was apparently not working, as her cold body language and rolling eyes made obvious for all except the very person causing her the trouble. He debated going over to step in, but decided that when she had splashed her drink in the other man's face, his help was neither needed nor probably desired. He chuckled to himself as she stormed out of the bar, a few crumpled up dollars left next to the now empty glass. He took another sip of his drink, smiling into the glass. You could never be sure with these Northeastern women; they were bred in the frigid colds of winter and the humidity of the summers, in smoke and salt water and sand and snow. They were hardened steel of skyscraper, and the hot pavement of country road. He was intrigued as all hell by her, but she had gone, a nameless face in the big city.

He would have left the bar unchanged, on a different path, if it wasn't for the righteous indignation of the man who was trying to flirt with that woman. He could feel the anger and embarrassment prickling off of him like sparks, and that electric red energy was targeted towards her. And that was not ok. When he saw him run out of the bar, Dean knew he had to act. He quickly flagged the bartender, throwing down some cash that was probably far too much of a tip, and ran out of the bar after both parties. He skidded to a halt on the curb, taking a moment to see if he could hear where they had gone off to, hoping they were in different directions.

They weren't.

He slowly made his way down the one-way streets that plagued these colonial cities, sharp turns and curves that made it dangerous for anyone to walk alone. He could hear shouting, and he knew he couldn't pretend to be pure human any longer, not if he wanted to make sure she'd make it out alive.

He shook his head under the water, willing the memory away. He remembered very little after that: screaming, him holding that douchebag by the throat against a brick wall, letting just enough of that inhuman edge of him shine through, voice growling and eyes glowing that golden hue, and flinging him across the damn alley.

He instead decided to focus on the positive memories that came out of that chance encounter: the dinner that following night, the long conversations via text and Skype, the admission of his…_affliction_, and so much more. But he always went back to one.

The first moon together.

He tried so hard to avoid the thought, but when thinking of her, it always went back to that night. He hadn't had a chance to go out for a run, so his tensions were running high, he felt so tightly wound that he could snap at any moment, and she was there, with soft hair and softer skin, with gentle words and gentler touches, holding his face in her hands. He could still feel her skin along the stubble of his cheek, he used it to anchor himself when he felt himself start to float away with the sea, lost to the moon's pull.

The beating of the water against his skin tried to bring him back, but his body was gone, he had already grown hard again at the recollection of her, so soft and pure and desperate to make him feel good that she knew nothing of what she had gotten into, the near pain he felt in holding back for so long, of entering her slowly and those long, deep thrusts inside her, that warmth against his length pulling the wolf out of him slowly but surely.

He remembered the feel of her lips on his, as his hand wrapped itself around his cock, a slow, hesitating stroke, before maintaining a rhythm not unlike the rhythm of her heartbeat and her breathing that first night, which had been branded upon his brain. He soon had to speed up, the teasing was becoming too much, he remembered that same painful twisting in his gut, needing to go harder, to be rougher, to fuck faster and deeper into her, but so afraid to hurt her, to scare her away. She had sighed out a moan, "just let go, baby," and he remembered gritting out an apology, letting the beast take over.

He was nearly fucking into his fist at this point, the burn of the water lost to his skin, when a sudden burst of cold air on his back knocked into him, feeling almost like it went through him. He had felt like liquid fire, letting the wolf brush against the surface, riding that edge, when that chill struck. He had put a hand up against the wall of the shower, trying to regain that focus, when a hand, so soft and gentle touched his back.

He felt her hands snake around his waist, lips kissing the warm expanse of his back, and he smiled in spite of himself. Even now, years later, she found some way to cut her way through the haze of the monster, to reach through to the man. He turned around, letting her rest her head against his chest. Soon, the silent comfort of their breathing in the water became too much, and he picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, resting her back against the wall of the shower, moving kisses from her lips to along her jawline, to down her neck.

For anyone else, the sounds of moans were muffled by the shower, and made inaudible by the late night rain outside, but a whispered name and a choked off howl were all she and him could hear.


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you remember how we first met?" She was laying her head against his chest, enjoying the feel of him twirling her hair in his fingers. She looked up at him quickly, and he laughed to himself.

"Yeah, that's actually what I was first thinking of when I was in the shower. I had to stop thinking about it when I remembered that shit stain that tried to hit on you in the bar." He still felt his blood boil about it, despite it being years since that had happened. He closed his eyes, trying to forget it once more.

"I just think it's funny that you went from just saying hi to me at the bar once to defending my honor."

He stopped twirling her hair at that. "I talked to you before that?"

"Really Dean. You don't remember saying hi to me when you bumped into me? You and Sami were there, and he was hitting on some chick there, and you accidentally bumped into me, and talked to me for about a minute."

He swallowed nervously, honestly not remembering any part of this. That was part of the problem with the human senses versus the wolf senses…if he had to mute those senses, memories tended to go with them. His first memory of her was when he let himself let loose, and he wasn't really surprised at that, but she could probably get offended really quickly if he didn't explain this the right way.

"Well, ok, here's the thing…usually when I'm in big cities, I have to block shit out, you know that, right? Or else it's just an overload of stuff at once and I get a really bad headache…I kind of did that at the bar, so I probably didn't even recognize you as whoever it was I spoke with. I only really paid attention to you once I let myself start feeling more things, after Sami had left…right when that dickhead tried hitting on you…"

He couldn't tell how she felt, but instead of any irritation he had anticipated, she just quietly hummed to herself and rubbed a hand down his stomach, resting it right beneath his belly button. She nuzzled into his chest a bit more, muttering that it made sense, she guessed. She had become adjusted to finding out things about his condition at random moments in life, since almost the very beginning…

* * *

It had been a little more than six month into their relationship, and Dean was feeling the pressure from the boys about meeting her. The weekly breakfast at Roman's place went as calmly as it could when you put four werewolves under the age of 30 in a room together that had exorbitant amounts of bacon and sausage. Roman had sat down, a plate mainly stacked with bacon and pancakes, while Seth had eggs, fruit, and a few pieces of sausage. Dean and Sami were staring at the same plate of bacon, having already had a mini fight over the hashbrowns.

"So, full moon's coming up soon. Does she at least know about our little, uh, 'hunting trips?'" Sami grinned, taking a bite out of a thickly cut piece of bacon, chomping loudly on it. Dean rolled his eyes, and went to throw a piece of sausage at Sami's head, Seth catching it mid air.

"No, really," he took a bite of the sausage, swallowing quickly. "Does she know about us? I wanna meet her. She sounds awesome, and if she hasn't run away screaming yet she seems like a keeper, when do we meet her?" He seemed to be bouncing in his seat, and Dean always wondered where he kept that extra energy. Between Sami's incessant nagging, and Seth's hyperactive enthusiasm, he felt like he was being pressured into a corner. He looked over to Roman, who shrugged, putting down his fork.

"I'd ideally like to meet her so I can get an idea of what type of person she's like, in case we're in the same public place and god forbid something happens to her, one of us can find her quickly and get her away from harm quicker than an EMT would. She's been with you this long, she's one of us now, whether or not you bite her." Ugh, why did Roman always have to be the sensible one. It was actually frustrating, because he always felt bad making any decision without consulting him now.

Sami and Seth nodded, looking back over at Dean, each with a varying amount of food shoveled into their mouth. Dean rolled his eyes and leaned his head backwards, just letting the sun that was pouring in through the windows hit against the top of his head.

"You're probably right, Ro. I'm supposed to be meeting up with her for lunch, I'll talk to her then and I'll let you know from there, alright? But just…please don't awkwardly sniff her or nothing. That's towards you, Sami"

A hashbrown went bouncing off of Dean's cheek in response to that.

* * *

He was pacing nervously in front of her apartment door, anxious about having to explain _what_ he was to her, and then having to explain further that his brothers, so to speak, wanted to meet her and that oh yeah, they were like this too. She opened the door, and he stopped, taking in her appearance. She had obviously just gotten done with a work out, as the sports bra and yoga pant combination told him. Her hair was up in some messy ponytail or bun situation, and she was nearly chugging a water bottle.

"Hey you…you're here early. Everything ok?"

He smiled, trying hard to not lose control over the scent of her sweat, but keeping it locked in the back of his mind. He shook his head, nervously brushing his hair out of his face. "No worries, I just wanted to talk to you before we headed out. Nothing bad, just…family stuff."

Yeah. Family stuff. That would work. He hoped.

"Oh! Well, in that case…yeah, come in, lemme just take a quick shower, I'm all gross. There's drinks in the fridge, just make yourself comfy." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and walked back through the door, Dean following behind her. He couldn't help but admire the view; whatever she was doing had made her ass even more toned than when he first met her, and he could see the sweat glistening off of her skin. He wanted nothing more than to just grab her and lick the sweat off of her neck, but he was trying to introduce this whole wolf thing slowly to her, and that would be the exact opposite of his intentions.

He went towards the fridge, grabbing a soda and popping open the can, making his way over to the living room, and gently falling into the huge chair across from the television. His phone buzzed, and he looked at it quickly, a fleeting message of "so…?" from Sami flashing once. He rolled his eyes and locked his phone, ignoring it for the moment. He took a few more sips of the soda, placing the can down on the table to the left of him, and leaning his head back against the chair. He closed his eyes and took a few deep even breaths, letting his senses sharpen again, taking advantage of the quiet. Suddenly he could hear the pattering of water of the shower clearer, hear the tinny echoes of music being played in the bathroom…_Kate Bush, really?_ He could smell the mixed scents of the body wash, shampoo, and of her skin, and he could feel himself lull off into this strange-yet-happy emptiness of mind, no buzzing in his head, just the rhythm of the water, the breathing, his heart beat, and whatever was playing on her iPod now. He didn't realize how far he had tranced out until he felt a hand on his shoulder, jerking him back to reality.

"Whoa, hey, Dean…you fell asleep on me! I didn't think I took that long…we can always go out another time, y'know." She smiled at him, hair still wet from the shower, but slowly drying, the moisture making it curl slightly at the edges. She wore a simple v-neck shirt and jeans, and no makeup, glasses instead of her usual contacts. She was so _normal_, and he adored that about her, that he was so afraid of jeopardizing this just because his brothers were curious about her.

"I was just so relaxed, I must have dozed off. And nah, we can hang out still, it's fine, I'm way too hungry to ditch out on lunch plans. Even after having breakfast with my brothers this morning…" He sat up, grabbing his soda and taking a large gulp of it, wiping at his mouth right after. He looked over to her, across from him on the couch, legs crossed beneath her.

"Yeah, you were saying something about your family. I didn't know you had brothers. I don't actually know much about your family at all, is that what you wanted to talk about?" She cocked her head to the side, and he focused on more inane facts about her, like the fact that her toenails were painted blue while her fingernails were painted pink, that she had a brush of freckles across her cheeks, anything to keep him from having to remind how so not-normal he was.

"Well, they're not my biological brothers. My biological family and I don't talk. Half of them are dead; the other half would be better off dead. These guys are my best friends, and have adopted me into their families, so they're basically my brothers. There are three of them. Roman, Seth, and Sami." He started flicking the tab of the soda can back and forth, the odd little metal _ping_ accentuating random places of his sentences. "Sami and Seth were giving me shit about not meeting you yet, and Roman spoke up saying he would like to meet you, so I was wondering if you'd be cool with that, meeting them…"

She now had curled her legs underneath her, nodding silently, resting against the arm of the couch. "That'd be nice. I'm sorry you haven't met my family, they just live all over the country so…"

Dean held up a hand to silence her. "Don't even worry about it. Let's go get some food, and we'll talk more about this after, I can feel my stomach eating itself right now…" His stomach growled at the perfect moment, and she let out a giggle that just makes his heart absolutely flutter. He was so afraid of scaring her off, how was he going to just segue into this conversation?

"Yeah, food sounds great. Can we go to the sandwich shop? I've been craving roast beef for about a week now…" She looked up at him, making her eyes look as large and pleading as possible. He rolled his eyes and puts an arm around her, walking towards the door.

"Whatever you want, babe."

* * *

Dean had asked her if she wanted to go for a ride after lunch, to enjoy the weather. Really, it was so he could show her what he was, and the only way to do that was to go to the house he had in the country. She didn't seem bothered, she had her feet out the car window, the seat leaned back, singing along to the radio. He looked over at her, amused at how laid back she was right now, since she would most likely start freaking out when he'd have to tell her the truth.

He pulled onto the dirt road that acted as the driveway for the house, driving beneath canopies of trees and then open sky, back to more trees. He finally reached the tiny ranch, stopping the car and looking over at her. She had put her feet back inside of the car, and was looking around, mostly in awe. "You own this?"

He shrugged, grabbing at their stuff in the backseat. "Yeah, I use it as a vacation home. Whenever me and the boys go on our weekend trips, this is usually where we stay. Figured I'd show you the place." Her eyes lit up, and she got out of the car, whistling low at the sight of the open fields, the deep woods, and the slight vision of mountains on the horizon.

"This must have cost you bank to get. Maybe we can stay here one weekend? I could always use some time away from the city…" She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him. He smiled and kissed her forehead gently.

"If you play your cards right, maybe we can."

* * *

Later that afternoon, he had worked up the courage to have her come outside with him, "for a walk," but really to tell her the truth. He was incredibly anxious, this was the first person he was telling, _ever_, and he was so afraid of what her reaction would be. He was hoping she wouldn't run screaming, but that was asking a bit much. If the tables were turned, he'd probably be a little more than freaked out if the person he had been dating for six months ended up being a monster…

A monster. That's what he thought of himself as. His brothers were trying to change that thought out of his head, but it was hard to not remember that it was those very words his mother had called the person who changed him, before she ended up dying herself. He shook his head slightly, but it was enough to catch attention.

"You ok up there?" She joked at him, since she was rather small in comparison to his height. He smiled down at her, silent but reassuring. They walked for a few more minutes quietly, enjoying the sounds of nature around them.

"Ok, here's good. Sit down. I wanna talk to you some more, about what we were talking about earlier, ok?"

She sat down on the grass, looking around for any bugs or snakes, before making herself more comfortable, or at least as comfortable as she could be on the ground.

"Alright, so what's up. Why'd you whisk me away to the country side to talk about your family?" She was half-joking, and he knew it, but he decided to cut straight to the point.

"I'm gonna sound real fucking cliché saying this, but I'm not like other guys. Ugh, god, fuck, that sounds terrible. I just…I just want you to know something about me, and my brothers, before you meet them, because you deserve to know, we've been seeing each other for this long, and I care about you, and if I didn't care about you this conversation wouldn't even be fucking happening, so just…remember when I beat the piss out of that dude in that alley the day I met you?"

She had started off smirking but her face kind of fell at the memory of the guy that had followed her out of the bar, harassing her for splashing her drink in his face. She nodded, not sure where this was going, but knowing better than to interrupt Dean, he looked really frustrated trying to get this out.

"Ok, so when I tossed that little shit across the alley, the…the thing I wanna talk to you about, it had to do with that. Just…ugh, just look." He points to his eyes and then closes them tightly, taking a moment or two to breathe, and then opening them.

Their color had changed from the blue-gray-green she was used to, to a golden color. She wasn't quite sure what to say, instead her hand going up towards her eyes, and then over her mouth.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's not even the full of it. That's all I let him see, but I'm letting you see the whole thing. Just, _please, PLEASE_ don't fucking scream, it'll freak me the fuck out. Just, stay where the fuck you are, and just trust me, ok? Ok?"

She nodded, not really sure of what else she could do, but she knew she probably couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't scream. He suddenly stood up, stripping of clothes quickly, and her eyebrow rose when he stood in front of her, fully naked, hands akimbo. "Nope, shut up and let me do this, before I chicken out."

She nodded again, much slower this time, her thoughts getting fuzzy at seeing how in shape he was, how _naked_ he was, in the woods while the sun was slowly going down. She must have been hallucinating, that _had_ to be the explanation for the gold eyes, because who the **fuck** has gold eyes.

He rolled his eyes, and immediately gets down on all fours, looking up at her quickly, and gritting out the words, "Don't. Scream." Then suddenly his body is contorting, he's trying to hold back a scream of his own, and all that she can see is muscles and bones and skin reforming, and sounds of tearing and breaking and screaming, which turns into these god awful choking and gagging sounds, and then finally these strange animalistic growls. She had already covered her eyes by this point, nauseated by whatever the fuck what happening in front of her, when she finally heard a low whimper, and the sound of something heavy flopping down onto the ground. She peered out between fingers…

And there's a fucking wolf lying down on the ground in front of her, staring at her, with big fucking gold eyes.

It's got gold fucking eyes. _Didn't Dean just have gold fucking eyes? Where the fuck is Dean? Why is there a fucking wolf… WHY IS THERE A FUCKING WOLF?_

The wolf started to pull itself up, and slowly move towards her, and she started scrambling back, because she was now alone in the woods with a fucking wolf, and like hell was she going to let this thing come any closer to her than it already was. She noticed the wolf stop and sit down, tilting its head looking at her, making a slight whimper, and then getting back onto all fours, bracing itself. She watched in horror and confusion as this wolf's body twisted and contorted…into the now tense and sweaty body of her boyfriend, curled up and coughing on the grass. Naked.

_Hah. Hahaha. Ahahaha._ She realized the laughter wasn't in her head. She was laughing out loud. Her boyfriend was a werewolf. Dean was a fucking werewolf.

He managed to look up at her, eyes still that golden hue, when he noticed her collapse on the ground.

_Great. You made her pass out. You told her not to scream, and she instead passes out. Good fucking job._

* * *

She woke up a few hours later, the sun having set, the room she was in darkened except for a small light across the room, with someone sitting in the chair watching her…who was definitely not Dean.

"Heeeey you're awake! I'll let Dean know, he's been worried sick about you. I can see why. You're pretty cute." He came closer to the bed, and all she can see is wild black hair before she starts screaming.

"Whoa, hey, whoa, no need for the screaming, I'm a friend, I'm a friend!" He was half-yelling at her, waving his hands in front of himself as some way to distract her from her screaming. She went to start swatting at him with the pillow on the bed when the door banged open, and Dean ran in, with two other people behind him.

"Sami, what the fuck?!"

The one with the wild black hair tossed his hands up, screaming, "I didn't do nothing! She woke up, I said hi and that I was gonna go get you, and she started flipping the fuck out!"

Dean looked over at her, seeing just how tired and shaky she was, sitting in the middle of the bed, somewhere between confused and scared. He sat down, sighing, wrapping an arm around her, and kissing her forehead gently. He let some of the warmth he generally exuded wrap around her, and he spoke low in her ear.

"Hey, shush, it's ok. These are my brothers. These are the ones who wanted to meet you. The one you almost beat to death with a pillow is Sami. These other two are Roman and Seth. They're…like me. All of them, actually…"

She looked over at the other two who were standing in the doorway, both pretty tall and with longish hair, who waved at her. The one with the two-toned hair, he had this really dorky smile and mouthed that he was Seth. So the other one was obviously Roman. Ok, she could get used to this, she thought. Except that all four of these men in this room, who were all attractive in their own way, were all werewolves. That nervous laughter started to bubble up again.

Roman looked over at Dean curiously, when she decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry, just…if all four of you…do that…wolf thing…and are all this damn good looking…I must have fallen into a Harlequin novel, this can't be real life, I must be high as fuck right now, just…wow. WOW." She let out another giggle again, slapping a hand over her mouth, looking over to Dean.

Roman let out a bark of a laugh from the door, amused at her nervous reaction. "As weird as it is, this is real life, baby girl, don't you worry about that. It's a bit much, I totally understand. Go get some rest, I'm sure we all could need it after today. We'll explain it to you tomorrow, alright? It was nice to meet you though, finally." He waved at Sami to follow him, and Seth moved out of the way. Sami nodded towards her and Dean, and then left the room.

Seth hung back for a moment, stretching his arms above his head, and yawning. "Ro's right, I'm gonna call it a night, but I just wanted to say that it's nice to meet you. We're gonna have to chat in the morning, you seem pretty rad. For what I can see right now…" He smiled and gave Dean a fist bump, before walking out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

She sighed and leaned her head back, groaning slightly. "I ask for prince charming, and instead I get the big bad wolf. Awesome. Good job."

Dean looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

She opened an eye, looking at him. "You heard me. I ended up with a wolf. Not how most fairy tales end up, you know. Not unless I want to get eaten alive."

He smirked at her and pushed her down on the bed, crawling on top of her quickly. "You make that seem like it's a bad thing, missy."

She could feel the distinctive hot pressure of sudden arousal hit her, and she decided to play along. "Oh, does that get you going? Are you gonna start calling me Red?"

He chuckled, a low deep rumble that seemed to radiate out into her. "I'm not the one talking about stories here, babe. That's all you. I'm still stuck on the eating you part…"

She bit her lip and smirked at him, letting out a small whimper when he started kissing at her neck. "Well, red _is_ a good color on me, I suppose…"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **So I'm sorry this took forever to update, but fortunately/unfortunately, other stories made their homes in my brain! Thank you for your patience and your wonderful reviews on this, both from the past and present. There's no smut in this chapter, because they are all very verbose jerks and make me write much longer chapters than I feel comfortable posting, so this one is split. I promise, smut in the next chapter. But, in this one, you get Dean's origin story in almost vivid detail, you find out about Roman & Seth, and you find out the girl's name! So there's that!

Thank you again, and enjoy!

* * *

"Babe…babe, wake up."

Krista groaned, pulling the blankets up over her head, Dean's laughter irritating her attempts at sleep. She groaned again, a strange "murr" sound, hiding her head underneath the pillow.

"No, really, Roman might kill Seth trying to hold him back from running up here and jumping on the bed. For all of our sakes, get your cute ass downstairs." He watches her shift around the blanket a few times, amused at how much of a morning person she wasn't. Usually she was the one to drag him out of bed, but today it seems the tables had turned.

"You think my ass is cute?" She's muffled, but the teasing still makes him smirk.

"Yeah, and if you don't get up in the next two minutes, I might have to tear it up." He makes a show of cracking his knuckles and wrists, as if she'd see it.

"Hmm, sounds like it'd be such a chore for you." She slips her foot out from under the blanket, trying to get cool air to regulate the temperature. Unfortunately for her, it gave him an opening.

"That's it." He tears the blankets off, dragging her out of the bed, her legs kicking wildly. He throws her over his shoulder and lays a quick smack on one of her ass cheeks before heading out of the bedroom, chuckling at her vain attempts at making her way out of his grip.

* * *

After a large breakfast in which Seth kept talking with his mouth full, asking questions about her, where she grew up, if she had any sisters - "SETH!" "What, I'm just curious!" – she stretched her back against the chair, and decided that this time, she'd be the one asking the questions.

"Alright, this one is for all of you. Because I'm curious. How did you all…y'know…"

She didn't have to finish her sentence in order for them to know what she was asking. Sami looked nervously over to Dean, who had bristled at her question. Roman and Seth looked to each other, the hesitation showing in their face.

"Did I…did I ask a bad question? Like, are there certain things I shouldn't ask?"

Roman put his fork down, cracking his neck from side to side, before speaking up. "It's not so much that you shouldn't ask, but it's… I don't want to say impolite to ask, because if we're willing to let you know what we are, you should know how we got there. It's just…"

"I said it with no tact."

"Yeah."

She nods, biting her lip in thought. She feels oddly embarrassed, even though she had no clue that she had made any sort of faux pas. It's not like you're taught how to bring up the question of being turned into a werewolf in etiquette classes.

"Don't worry about it, you didn't know. But uh, think of it as asking someone about their scars. You don't know if it's from something traumatic or something stupid, you know? You don't know what the story may be, so, uh… yeah, don't worry about it now." She flinched a little, feeling like she was being spoken down to, but she knew he was right. She hadn't thought of what it could bring up, and seeing how quiet Dean was, she wished she knew this before hand. She reached over to grab his hand, but she could see it form slowly into a tight fist. Shit. She fucked up.

"Seth and I, we're hereditary. I always knew. He didn't." He thumbs over at Seth who nods, running fingers through the black and blonde mop on his head.

"Roman grew up in a whole family of them, learned at a real young age what to expect. I guess it must be easier when you grow up knowing. I got it from my father, my biological one. Don't know him, don't particularly care to know him, but I thought the hairy thing was just him being Armenian…" He laughs to himself, and coughs, realizing that everyone else is still in serious mode. "So whenever it happened, I was scared shitless. Thought I was dying, you know? And then I thought it was a nightmare. And…man, I don't even know. All I know is that I tried to find people like me after, and the only one who seemed really willing to help was Roman. He knew what it was like to be a hereditary wolf, not like everyone else I met who got changed. It's a different process altogether."

She nodded, looking over to Dean, who seemed to become more stone-like as Seth kept talking. Those normally beautiful blue eyes had gone a little grey, a little icy, and his jaw was set. She went to reach over to him again when he pushed himself away from the table and stood up.

"I gotta go for a walk. Don't wait up." He walks towards the door, grabbing the leather jacket he had hanging up on one of the hooks, before slamming the door behind him.

She wanted to get up and go after him, but Sami grabs her wrist just as she starts to stand up. "Sweetie, if you were smart, you'd leave him alone."

She looked down at Sami, who looked back at her with these large, honest green eyes, and she figured if anyone knew how Dean would react, it'd probably be the brothers he's had since god knows how long. She sighs, and he lets go. "I'm…I'm gonna go upstairs."

* * *

A half hour later or so, she hears a knock at the semi-closed door. She's laying down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, not really paying attention to anything in particular. She speaks up, "Come in," not looking to see who it is that's knocking.

"Hey…listen, Kris, can we talk?"

She stops, blinking a few seconds, not used to that voice saying her name, before turning to see Sami standing in the doorway, hands in his pockets, his wild black hair held back by a bandana. He was wearing some t-shirt with some god-awful horror B movie design on it, and ripped jeans. He seemed a lot younger than he was, and the way he was carrying himself, it seemed this might have been on purpose.

"Yeah…what's up Sami?"

He walks in, and starts to close the door, before looking at her. "Is…is this ok?" She nods, and he closes the door behind him with a soft _click_.

"Listen, I'm sorry that I grabbed your wrist like that. It's just…I've known Dean for a while. I know how he gets, and I know he freaks the fuck out about the fear of hurting you. Going after him like that, that soon? It might have happened. Not on his intention or anything, but, well…that's the thing with us. We tend to sort of break everything we touch.

"But I wanted you to know that it wasn't me trying to be a dick, ok? Like…Roman was right. You didn't know, and considering you've had a lot dropped on you in the past 24 hours, it only made sense that you wanted some more answers. And that's cool, whatever, fuck it, you should know. But man, Dean's been through some shit. He doesn't really like talking about his past too much…"

He sits down gently on the edge of the bed, making sure to not get too close to her, because he knew that Dean would fly off the handle if he was still in his state when he came back.

"He might kill me, actually kill me, if I tell you, but I know what happened for the most part, and I think you deserve to know."

She sits up, crossing her legs beneath her. "Sami, really, it's not a big deal, don't worry about it."

"Nah, you don't get it. He _told you about us_. What we are… You're as serious as I've ever seen, and I've known him since I was normal."

"Sami, I can't imagine a time that you've ever been normal." She smirks, watching as his eyes grow wide.

"Oh I see how it is, you go from trying to murder me with a fucking pillow to thinking you can make jokes about me. You're in for it, girl."

He grabbed her and pulled her tight against him, giving her a noogie. She let out a laugh that was partially scream, "What are you, thirteen?" She pushed him away, rubbing the top of her head slightly after.

He got a huge cheesy grin on his face, interlacing his fingers and cracking his knuckles out in front of him. "Thirteen and a half, thank you very much." She rolled her eyes at him, punching him lightly on the arm.

"No, but really, Kris, if you want to know, I'll let you know. And hell, I'll let you know how I got changed too. That way I can always tell Dean if he finds out that it's because I had to give background to how we met…"

"Sami, please don't feel like you have to."

"No, Kris, you should know."

She shrugged, realizing that no matter how much she protested, if Sami wanted to tell her, then he'd tell her. "Go ahead Sami."

"Alright, well. I had met Dean by the time he'd already been changed. He'd only been like that for maybe a year, year and a half? We're both punk brats out of shitty ass Ohio, so we bonded immediately. He got really drunk one night, and confided in me about how that was the reason why he was able to withstand a lot of the really violent ass brawls he'd get into, like it was nothing. He'd just brush off beatings that would probably have put anyone else in a hospital. And I thought he was high as a fucking kite whenever he told me that he was a fucking wolf, like, I like horror movies and all but _come on_, you know? And then he did the fucking eye thing, and I was sober as all fuck, and whenever I saw the gold eyes, man, I kind of shit myself a little bit."

She wrinkled her nose, but he swatted at her, silently telling her to let him keep going.

"So anyway, he starts telling me about his family, which he never really talked about, because you know, shitty bullshit teenage angst, who the fuck needs it. But he starts talking about his mom, and like, I knew he had some issues with his mom, but he never said why. And so I guess his mom was like this wicked drugged out whore or whatever, and would bring the dudes home _while he was there_. Which, you know, must fuck a kid up way more than I can even think about.

"Well, anyways, it was like really late at night, and he can't fucking sleep, and he can hear his mom getting into this argument with this dude, I guess he was there like _all the fucking time_. And suddenly like, his mom is screaming, and he hears this weird fucking growling and shit, and of course he comes busting out of the room, because, one, his mom is screaming and it's really fucking late at night and he's kind of oddly concerned, and two, because he's really sick of his mom keeping him the fuck up and is really fucking pissed. And he walks in, and there's this fucking wolf in this shitty ass apartment in Cincinnati, which, you know, wouldn't happen. So he sees this thing dive for his mom, and as much as she neglected him and shit, it's still his mom, you know? So he goes to jump in front of his mom, and this thing like, rips at his back and his neck, he goes down, he's bleeding fucking everywhere, his mom's screaming her fucking lungs out, and this piece of shit goes after her.

"And like, he's just laying there, thinking that he's gonna bleed to fucking death at like fifteen or sixteen, and his mom like, calls the damn thing a monster, which _he fucking was_, and that's all that Dean remembered until he like, woke up the next morning in a fucking hospital bed. He survived, but his mom didn't. She uh…she made it out a lot worse than he did. He never told me exactly what happened, but he's given hints. Hints that I don't really wanna share with you, if you don't mind…"

He winces, an arm unconsciously covering his stomach. She nods, taking in the subtle hint that he doesn't even realize he's giving.

"So yeah. He recovers, and minus a scar here or there, the doctor's can't figure out how the fuck he did it. And he gets this wicked bad anger problem, but everyone kind of figured it was because, you know, his mom got murdered basically in front of him, and his dad, well, no one knew where his dad was, not even Dean. So he kind of was this loner street rat kid who hung out with the wrong crowd and would get into fights and shit. And so he'd sort of couch surf from place to place, and that's how we ran into each other eventually.

"He met some of my other friends, and like, he was cool with them for the most part, but we hit it off and he basically adopted me as a little brother, which was cool, like whatever, I had this cool tall douchebag for a brother and he could beat anyone's ass and like, he'd be standing there covered in fucking blood, and he'd just pop open a beer that one of the older guys I was friends with would get for us, and he'd just down the entire bottle, face covered in fucking blood, and just smile it off like it was nothing.

"So whenever he told me he was a fucking wolf, like, man, it was weird as fuck. And so I drag him back to the shithole I was staying in, and he said he'd show me, and like, ok, not gonna lie, kinda weird seeing him naked, but man, whatever, and he fucking changed _right in front of me_, and man, no horror movie will ever get that shit right, because it makes no goddamn sense. Like, your body shouldn't be able to survive that, no one's should, your skin and bones and muscles and organs shouldn't be able to bounce around like fucking rubber, cracking and moving back in all these weird angles that a human body can do, it made no fucking sense, but I couldn't look goddamn away, and then suddenly there was this big, golden brown wolf in my goddamn shithole apartment. And you know what I did?"

"Did you laugh?"

"…yeah, actually. Why?"

"No reason. Keep going."

Sami raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. "Yeah ok so like, he changes back, and then he tells me that story that I just told you. And so he tells me that maybe a week or two after he got out of the hospital, he starts getting this weird itching feeling under his skin, and he's popping every allergy medication he can think of, he's ready to start pouring calamine lotion on himself, and it just gets worse the closer it gets to full moon, but he don't realize that. And so finally, full moon hits, and he's in this god awful pain, and no amount of alcohol or pills or coke or whatever can stop it, it's just making it fucking worse, and then finally, it just happens."

"What. What happens, Sami."

"I wolfed out."

Sami and Krista look over to see Dean standing in the doorway, the leather jacket slung over one shoulder, hair in his face, in a white wife-beater and jeans. Kris swallowed nervously, and also partially out of attraction, but mostly because she really didn't want to be witness to Sami's murder.

"Ah man, how long have you been standing there?"

"Since when you mentioned shitting yourself. Which, you know, you should probably get that checked on." He smirks, a dimple deciding to show up, dodging a pillow thrown at his head.

"Man, I didn't even hear you open the door, or else I wouldn't have just told her all of that." Sami gets up from the bed, suddenly very conscious of how bad this may have looked if Dean was still vaguely irritable.

Dean shrugged, tossing the jacket on the chair near the wall, making his way over to the bed, dropping himself right where Sami sat. "Nah, you did a good job of telling her. Should I tell her about how you got changed?"

Sami goes to open his mouth, but Krista speaks up. "I…I think that's enough for right now, actually. You guys are on edge, and don't think I didn't check when you guys were cleaning up or having a temper tantrum…full moon is this weekend. You're all on edge. So, just…don't worry about it. Let me pack my shit up, and I can call a cab and head home."

Sami and Dean turn to look at her. "What?"

Krista tilts her head slightly, a look of confusion on her face. "What…can I not go home now or something?"

Sami looks to Dean, shrugging. "That's…that's all on you, bro. I'm…gonna go…see if Roman's…doing…a thing…" He quickly heads out of the room, waving back blindly at Dean and Kris before closing the door sharply behind him.

"What was that all about?"

"Uhm. Well. Sami seems to be under the impression that you'd be staying here, _especially_ since it's full moon this weekend."

"Why would that matter?"

He looks at her, giving her that stupid smolder of his that always made her insides twist.

"Oh. _Oh_. Jesus…uhm…I…I guess I can? Stay, I mean. I can stay. If you want me to. Or need me to."

He wraps an arm around her, bringing his lips to the side of her head. "Both. Want you. Need you. Both work."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Finally! Smut! I actually had to push some of the stuff I had originally outlined as cute or funny plot points out of my brain or else these two would never get back to the amazing sex that started this story in the first place. I hope you all enjoy, and thank you all for your kind words.

* * *

Krista was blessed to have a boss that really liked her. Anywhere else, if she called and sprung on them that she'd need the rest of the week and the weekend off, she'd be fired on the spot. Her boss, on the other hand, told her that it was a great idea, because she had way too much vacation time banked up and corporate wasn't going to let her roll it over anymore. So that Tuesday afternoon that she had called, she found herself with nothing to do until that following Monday.

Except, you know, live with four werewolves the week of a full moon.

No biggie.

The week had gone by rather uneventfully. She mainly stayed inside, chatting with Seth, Roman, and Sami about some of Dean's more canine personality traits, while he made sarcastic one-liners and sneers back at them, but making sure to wink every now and then to let Krista know that he was kidding. The very few times they did go into public, they mainly kept to themselves, except for when she had to make sure the four of them didn't buy the entire grocery store out of steak. She managed to coerce them into letting her buy some clothes to keep at the house, before they all headed back.

She yawned, holding the mug of tea she had made in her hands. She really did like the break from the hustle and bustle of the city, and hearing birds chirping and seeing the rain on the grass was much better than hearing the blaring of horns and the splashing of puddles. No matter where she was though, her day almost always started with her waking up in Dean's arms.

She had to slowly slide her way out of his arms this morning; he was nearly wrapped around her, slightly snoring, his face burrowed into her shoulder. She wanted to stay like that forever, or at least for a while longer, but she needed the time away to think. It was Thursday, and the first of the three days that marked a full moon… she wasn't sure what to expect, but she knew she needed to get herself prepared for it, whatever it was.

She put the mug down, feeling this irresistible urge to step out onto the damp grass, feeling the blades between her toes. It was really early, and she had only the jeans and t-shirt that she had on her yesterday, the rest of her laundry in the wash, but something in the back of her mind was just urging her on.

She tiptoed down the stairs, the cool brick made moist by the dew. The minute her feet touched the grass, it was like something in her clicked. She remembered childhood moments of playing barefoot in the backyard, getting yelled at by her grandmother when she'd try to come in the house, completely covered in dirt, her hands and feet the worst. Being in the city for so long, she felt torn away from that strange, nature-loving side of her. It only made sense that the man she fell in love with was a wild animal.

She had lain down by this point, feeling the grass almost cradle her, softer than any bed she could ever buy. _In love_. She'd have to come back to that, when she had the space to sit down and think clearly about this. Right now, all she could think of were tall trees and the smell of rain and maybe, if she could will herself to not get jumpy, maybe even feeling what his fur would feel like under her fingers.

"You ok over there?"

She opened her eyes, looking over to see Dean standing on the porch, brushing his hair out of his eyes, and wearing nothing but pajama bottoms. Goddamn, she could get used to that.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just nice to be able to lie down in the grass again. I haven't done it in years." She stretched her arms and legs out, yawning loudly with closed eyes, before opening them and looking over to see a hand reaching down towards her, him standing next to her. "What?"

"Come on, let's get inside. It's going to rain, and we need to talk before tonight anyways."

She looked up at the sky, which while it wasn't blue also didn't have any clouds in it. "How do you know that? It doesn't look like it to -" Suddenly it was as if on cue, rain started falling, Dean laughing as Krista grabbed onto his hand, pulled herself up and started to run towards the house. He ran in after her, sliding inside the hallway and closing the door behind him.

* * *

Seth had been sitting in the living room, just watching out of the window at the rain falling, the pattering of it against the glass hypnotizing him. When he felt weight next to him on the couch, he looked over, seeing Krista there, watching with him. "You ok, Kris?"

"Worried about tonight."

"I mean…I understand why you're worried, but don't worry, we'll take care of him."

"No, I mean, I don't worry about him. He's been doing this for years, you all have. I'm worried for myself…"

Seth sat there, looking out at the rain a bit more. His attention was a bit lost; he could feel the urge to just shed his skin and go running into those woods, but he knew better than to do it in the daylight. It was too risky that way, one of the first things that Roman had ever taught him. He blinked a few times to regain his senses, and looked back over at Krista, a lazy smile on his face.

"You'll be fine. You actually kind of surprised all of us with how well you took it. I mean, minus the laughing and the passing out and the trying to murder Sami with a pillow. Most people would have run screaming, or, y'know, probably tried to kill us."

He shrugged, looking back out at the window, while Krista sighed, leaning her head against the back of the couch.

"It's weird, Seth. I'm not going to lie. A week ago if you told me that my boyfriend and his friends were…well, I guess the term would be _werewolves_, huh? If you told me that…I would have probably thought you were drunk. But now, now that I've seen it? I wonder what else is out there. Who else I know that may be like this, be like you guys, be something completely different."

"Well, like it or not, you're one of us now, even if you stay all mundane and shit. You're pack. Don't tell Dean I called us that, he gets a little twitchy about, y'know, the stereotypes and stuff. I wouldn't use the word _werewolf_ in front of him either. Like I said, it's different for naturals and changed…"

She nodded, closing her eyes. The sound of the rain was calming her nerves slightly, and for all of his hyperactivity earlier in the week, he seemed to have mellowed out. Maybe it was a side effect of the full moon.

"But yeah, you're one of us now for sure. Since he told you about us. He's never done that before, you know. You're the first person that he's dated since he got changed that he's told. So, that's gotta mean something." He looked over, grinning like he knew a dirty secret. Krista let it slide. She really wasn't ready to have this conversation, not now, not on a weekend like this.

"Well, who knows Seth, but what I know is that I don't know what to expect tonight."

"Well, we usually go out for a run, mainly just to get some of the tension out of us. The big stuff will probably happen tomorrow. But tonight we'll just shift for the fuck of it. Nothing really major to worry about."

He got that lazy smile on his face again, looking back out at the rain. Krista knew he was only half here, the other half of him already running through those trees with his brothers. "Thanks Seth. I appreciate it."

"No problem." He didn't look away from the window

* * *

As night approached, it was almost as if you could taste the tension in the house. It was a viscous, thrumming energy that she would have to wade through in order to reach the room that her and Dean shared. She had managed to avoid brushing up against any of it, until she ended up face first in Dean's chest. She looked up at him, the sight of him with wild hair and stubble on his cheeks starting a tiny flame of arousal in her stomach. Nothing to be concerned about yet, but something to still keep an eye on…

"Whoa, hey, watch where you're going. You seem distracted…" He looked down at her, amused at how flustered she was.

"Yeah, you try not being distracted being the only human in a house with four…uhm…"

"Wolves. Just say wolves."

"… a house with four wolves."

"Well, don't worry about it. Only three of them are going for a run tonight. I figured I'd stay in with you, since you're so worried and all." He smiled down at her, but his face fell when she had nothing but a look of shock on her face.

"Don't…don't you think that's a bad idea?"

He shrugged, "Nah, the only run I'll actually need is tomorrow. We just usually stretch it out over the three days to make it not as painful, but eh, I'll get over it. I want to make sure you're ok." He opened the door to the bedroom, allowing her to walk inside just barely before leaning down to whisper in her ear. "And maybe I'll need other things…"

She could feel the blush rising up her cheeks.

* * *

Dean had been very touchy-feely all night, playing with her hair, wrapping his arm around her, kissing at her neck and shoulder, tracing his fingers up and down her arm towards her hand. He was always pretty touch oriented, which Krista loved because that was the quickest way to get her going, but this was a bit much, even for him.

Finally, any pretense he had of watching whatever was on TV with her had failed, and he moved to be on top of her, kissing at her neck, grinding down onto her. He bites at the lobe of her ear gently, his voice having gone a little lower and more like a growl. "Need you, Kris."

Krista barely had time to form words before he was kissing his way down her body, tearing clothes off of her and into shreds. He reaches her jeans and looks up, his eyes switching back and forth from normal to that unnatural gold, flickering back and forth whenever he'd blink. She nodded slowly, gulping, wondering to herself what had she gotten herself into.

He fumbles with the jeans for half a minute, getting more and more irritated with each passing second, fighting with himself to not rip these off as well, since he had already destroyed her shirt, and nearly her bra. He finally got the jeans off and yanks her panties down her legs as well, flinging them off of the bed. He gets off of the bed quickly, quickly removing his clothes, before climbing back onto the bed, kneeling between her legs.

He looks at her, eyes having gone gold now, with no flickering back and forth. She could see him struggling; not having gone out with his brothers must have made his other cravings more intense. She nods, managing to nervously croak out "need you too." He grabs her by the hips and slides in slowly. He can feel just how wet she is, but he can also feel that she's anxious, nervous, and it's making her tighten up in a way that was not a good sign.

"Let me in, baby." He's trying hard to keep in control, thrusting into her incredibly slow and shallow, trying to get her to loosen up a little. She finally does when he moves his hand between them, very gently rubbing at her clit. He groaned as he felt himself sink deeper into her, and pulled his hand away, to rest back at her hipbone. He maintained his rhythm; long and languid strokes that seemed to both keep him relatively human, but still find a safe way to draw the wolf out slowly. It felt like static in the back of his brain and along the column of his spine, prickling at him as if it would sprout out of him, almost like fur.

_Fuck_.

He could feel his arms shaking with how much he was holding back. He wanted to bury himself deep within her, repeatedly, he wanted to leave bite marks and bruises, he wanted to hear her make incoherent moans and whimpers because of him. He wanted to drag nails down her body, to mark her, to claim her as his.

Krista could tell he was restraining himself. She could see in the way he held his eyes shut, the way his arm that was holding him up was shaking, how he seemed so tightly coiled. She took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of him slowly drawing himself out one more time. "Just let go, baby…it's ok."

He stopped, opening his eyes, looking back at her. She saw the confusion on his face, and she rested a hand gently on his cheek, feeling the stubble on her palm. He nuzzled into it, gently. He opened his eyes again, and for a brief moment they were that pale blue she had seen earlier in the day. "I'm sorry…"

"It's ok. Just let go."

She watched his eyes go gold, and soon his hand was wrapped around her wrist, forcing it down above her head, squeezing tightly. He tightened the grip his other hand had on her hip, and rested his face in the crook of her neck, soon using both hands to grip onto her hips, shoving himself inside desperately, as if each thrust wasn't deep enough. He wanted to be inside her, almost like he wanted to hide within her. His brain was starting to short-circuit, he couldn't think in full sentences anymore, he just knew that he felt as if he was chasing prey, and the feel of her legs wrapped tightly around him, the sounds she was making coming out breathy and broken, made him skirt that edge. He felt as if he were on fire, and the minute that her nails dragged down his back, even just lightly, he buried himself within her a final time, holding her in place as he came, a groan-turned-growl rumbling forth.

He stayed there momentarily, catching his breath, before pulling out slowly, moving his body downwards until his face was between her legs. He looked up at her, before starting to lick inside of her, tasting both her and himself on his tongue.

She wanted to flinch, slightly, she was kind of sore, but the way he gently lapped at her, she couldn't help but feel pleasant warmth tingling throughout her body. She wouldn't even care if she didn't come, it all felt so good, she could go without at this point. But soon he's sucking gently at her clit, digging fingers into her thighs, licking as if he wanted to absolutely make sure he had gotten every single drop out of her, and when he moaned against her lips, it snuck up on her, racing up her back and through her stomach to finally overtake her.

He groaned, feeling her come against his mouth, and very gently slowed his pace, until finally he had broken away with a gasp, mouth and chin wet. He crawled up to her, kissing her softly, opening his mouth to let her taste them combined. After he was content with kissing her, he collapsed on the bed next to her, sweaty and exhausted, an arm thrown over her stomach. She sighed, closing her eyes, opening them briefly to look over at him. The moon had broken through some of the trees and was shining through the window, some of its light hitting the expanse of his back. Love, _yeah… love_, was an interesting creature.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I don't really have much to say about this, except, yay! Thank you everyone for the follows & favorites. Reviews still make me a happy Rae, though, so if you like this story enough to follow and/or fave it, please leave me something in the reviews. I love to hear what you have to think, and I do actually take suggestions for where you'd like to see this go, or for what things you'd like clarified...

On that note, here we go.

* * *

The sound of howling had woken her out of a deep sleep. Krista groaned, knowing she'd have to get used to that. She rolled over, expecting to find Dean lying next to her, still naked and snoring, but was instead rewarded with an empty half of the bed. She figured it would happen, eventually. Sure, he had said that he wanted to stay in to make sure she was ok, but she knew that the moon's pull would eventually tug on him. She saw how Seth was when it was still daylight, but she couldn't even fathom how it must have felt for Dean. Trying to hold off, even if it was only for a bit, being as aggressive in bed as he had been, and then to have the moonlight itself shining down on his sweat-covered skin…if she had the same affliction, _that's probably what he'd call it_, she'd do the exact same thing.

The howls seemed to get louder, as if they were closer. Krista's curiosity got the best of her, since she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, and she made her way out of the bed slowly, legs still weak from earlier, to look out the window. It truly was a beautiful view: moon and stars illuminating the sky, expanses of pine, oak, maple and ash acting as canopy in the newly reborn spring of the Northeast. She heard another howl, and something deep down told her it was a final warning, a call to come home. She couldn't see them, the trees blocked that view, but she saw a figure stumbling slightly out of the woods, fiddling with a belt around his pants. From the long hair she could see, and the size of his build, she saw that it was Roman. It figured that he'd be the first one, the one to rally the troops, so to speak. He was the hereditary, the one who grew up knowing. He probably had the easiest time changing.

Soon she heard other howls in response, and it made hairs rise on her arms and chills down her back. There was truly nothing more amazing than to hear a wolf howl in person, she had only heard the same sound bite used in television shows and movies. They could never do it justice. Slowly but surely, the rest of them made their way out of the woods, Dean being last. He was holding his arm, cradling it, as if he had hurt himself. He quickly moved his shoulder back, and the brief scream of pain she heard made her stomach twist. He checked his arm and shoulders, before carrying on walking back to the house as if nothing had happened.

Krista shook her head, and decided to make her way down to see them all. She threw on a pair of panties and grabbed one of his tshirts, before making her way out of the room and down the stairs. Just as she had reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw the door open, with the four of them spilling in. She took in their appearance, bedraggled and exhausted. "Do you guys want me to cook you up some food? You can all get washed up while I make some steak or something…"

Roman huffed out what was probably a laugh, but fatigue took the sound from it. "That sounds great, actually."

While Roman, Seth, and Sami made their way to the separate bathrooms in the house, Dean stayed behind, watching as Krista grabbed some of the steaks that had been already seasoned and marinated in the fridge. He waited as patiently as he could while she got the food ready, setting up the stove to cook them. She hummed to herself, and the sheer domesticity of it made Dean's heart do that weird flip that it had done back at her apartment. He liked this, being able to come in from a run with the boys and have her waiting here. He liked it a lot.

He finally couldn't hold off any longer, and when she was standing there, watching the steaks cook, he walked over, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek, but before he could say anything, Sami spoke up, walking into the kitchen rubbing a towel over his head. "For fucks sake dude, people eat in here, calm it down."

Without looking over at Sami, Dean laughed. "Yeah well I already ate." Krista felt her cheeks turn red, heard Sami groan in half-hearted disgust, and she bit her bottom lip when she felt Dean lick lightly at the edge of her ear. "Smells good…"

She coughed slightly, "what…what smells good?"

"The steaks. They smell good. You might want to flip them."

She reached for the tongs, blushing some more, Dean chuckling at her nervousness.

"Boy, go take a shower and leave Kris alone, she looks like she's gonna pass out, and I don't want my damn steak burnt." Roman flung his towel at Dean's head, and he laughed, it landing only halfway on his head. Dean held his hands up, and made his way towards the bathroom, laughing when Sami whipped him on the thigh with his towel.

The very late dinner had ended up becoming a very early breakfast, and after cooking the steaks for the boys and herself, Krista decided to fry some eggs and make some homefries with peppers and onions, which led to Seth and Sami asking if she could stay there forever. It felt nice to be sitting with them, eating and laughing loudly at about three in the morning, and some part of her didn't want to go back to the hustle and bustle of the big city. Maybe she could do her work from home, and live here with Dean, and whenever the boys needed to come by she'd…

She'd _what_, exactly? She wasn't really a domestic person, never wanted to be the stay at home wife or mother, _why was she even thinking like this?_ She looked over at Dean, who raised an eyebrow at her, obviously noticing her distraction. They were interrupted by Roman, who let out a huge yawn, stretching his back over the chair, pushing it out from the table. "Kris, you are more than welcome to cook for us _anytime_. Dean, you lucky son of a bitch."

Dean smiled, an actual smile that showed dimples and teeth and he even kind of stuck his tongue out a little. "Yeah, I mean, I _guess_." He winked at Krista, before getting up from the table and walking over to where she was sitting. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I think it's time for bed, don't you?" She nodded, and quickly said good night to the other three men before making her way upstairs with Dean.

Roman laughed, shaking his head. "That poor girl has no idea what she got herself into."

* * *

The minute the door closed behind him, Dean grabbed Krista and spun her, pressing her firmly against his body. He kissed her neck, sniffing at her hair. "I wasn't kidding you know," he mumbles against her skin. "You smell so good."

Krista smirked, not letting the joke get the best of her again. "Good enough to eat?"

"Stop with the fairy tale jokes. And you and I both know the answer to that one." He bites gently against her neck, chuckling when a whine escapes her lips. "Take off your clothes and get on the bed." He pushes her slightly towards the bed, and she complies, quickly stripping before crawling onto the bed. She hears the satisfying sound of a belt being undone, and a zipper being pulled down, and she turns her head to watch him.

She really didn't know how she managed to get this lucky, all things considered. He was tall, and handsome, and in shape, and _goddamn_ he was great in bed, and ok… so maybe he turned into a wild animal, literally, a few days during the month, but in the grand scheme of things, she could live with that. She caught herself, quickly. Not the time to be thinking these things.

"Like what you see?" He noticed her staring, and strokes himself loosely a few times, watching her cheeks turn a little pink from watching. He loved how she still had some semblance of innocence to her, it just added to the multitude of things about her that he loved.

Loved.

Well, _shit._

"Yeah. Yeah I do." She smiled at him, and he finally made his way over to the bed, having removed his jeans fully on the way over. He kissed each shoulder blade as he moved to cover her body with his. He slipped an arm around her, his hand working its way south, until his fingers found her clit, rubbing gently.

"I can't promise I'll be gentle with you like this, but I'll try."

"Maybe I don't want you to be gentle?" She tried to say it without any shakiness to her voice, but him rubbing at her, so slow and gently, ruined that for her. She heard him laugh, another kiss against her right shoulder.

"Maybe I want to be. Like I said, I can't promise, but I'll try. Just, humor me?"

She nodded, sighing out an _okay_ as he moved his fingers lower to feel if she was wet enough. When his hand moved away, she shifted her hips slightly, but she paused when she felt his other hand rest on the small of her back. She laid her upper body more on the bed, sighing when she felt him enter her slowly.

He pushed into her gently the first few times, cautious because of how rough he had been earlier. He moved a hand from her hips up to her chest, playing with her nipples briefly, feeling them harden under his fingers, before he pushed at her chest to bring her up. She raised her upper body gently, feeling her back press against his chest, her skin brushing against the hair on his chest.

He continued to thrust into her, slow but deep, moving his hand back around her body to rub at her clit, whispering in her ear, "that's it baby, just like that" when she starts to whimper and moan. He quickened his pace slightly, not wanting to trigger that animalistic need again, and rubbed a little harder and quicker against her. He was rewarded with feeling her tremble and tighten slightly around him.

"Come on Kris, that's it…" He kissed and licked at her neck, before her arms gave up and she rested her head on the bed face first, her hands digging into the sheets. He moved his hand away, knowing the change in the angle would work out in both of their favors; he'd get deeper inside of her, and she'd get to feel him against her regardless.

He heard her beg out for him to go faster and rougher, and he wanted to keep this as gentle as possible, but she was clawing at the sheets, moaning into the mattress to silence herself, and he could tell she was close. So he gave in.

The room, momentarily, was filled with the sounds of muffled moans, skin hitting skin, heavy breathing and the occasional grunt. Finally, these breathy, sighed out whimpers burst forth from her lips, and she tightened around him, clawing desperately at the sheets. She managed to form the words "keep…going…" before burying her face in the bed, a final groan making its way out of her.

He slammed into her a few more times before he felt his orgasm rush upon him, causing him to dig his fingers into her hips to the point of possibly bruising her. He wanted to bite down on her shoulder as he came, but he didn't know how badly it could hurt her, and he didn't want to risk it. He never wanted to hurt her, and he would have to keep an eye on her hips when they both woke up. So instead, he bit back a growl, the way his throat clenches and how the air leaves his lungs, it's almost like a slight howl breaks loose. _No._

He stayed there for a moment, letting the aftershocks ride out, before pulling out gently, a sigh falling from Krista's lips. He stumbled into the bathroom, grabbing a facecloth and wetting it under the faucet. He looked up into the mirror and his eyes were gold. _No._ He shook his head, willing it away. He opened them again and watched them slowly turn back to blue, the gold disappearing at the edges. He made his way back into the bedroom, and moved towards Krista's body.

He pushed at her, whispering to her to roll on her back, which she did, and he gently wiped at her, making sure she was as clean as he could manage right now. He wiped himself off with the facecloth and threw it towards where his jeans lay on the floor. He crawled into the bed next to her, and almost instantaneously Krista wrapped her arm around him, nuzzling her face into his chest.

She took a deep breath, sighing, sleep having already taken her half away. She yawned, rubbing her cheek against his chest, and mumbled, "love you."

_Oh_.

He blinked, holding his breath briefly, his hand still rubbing up and down her back gently, not expecting that. He didn't dislike it, not at all, he felt the same, but neither of them had said it to each other, and for it to be said like that, so impromptu, so openly… it sort of took the pressure off of him. He kissed the top of her head, smiling when he heard a very faint snore coming from her.

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Love you too."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Thank you all for your kind words and support for this fic! It makes my heart happy knowing that my silly little love for werewolves is not so weird or silly, and that I've even converted some of y'all. As always, reviews are appreciated & heavily preferred, so I know what you guys like & dislike! Without further ado.

* * *

It was dark, but the night had a strange blue tint to it. She was surrounded by trees; tall, black, imposing. Suddenly, a choir of howls. She looked around, desperately, the vision in front of her stunted by the omnipresent shadow of the trees. No moon, no stars, utter darkness, except for the glow of what seemed like a thousand golden eyes through the thicket. Surrounding her, closing in.

Krista looked down at her hands, specked with dirt and dried blood. She looked up and Dean stood before her, eyes golden, chest heaving, drenched in sweat. There was blood at his mouth and on his hands, going up his arms to the elbow. She realized suddenly the pain she was feeling, and looked down to find her chest gaping open. He held out a hand, and her heart rested there, beating, still flush with blood and adrenaline. She desperately snatched it, shoving it within the cavity of her chest, and without warning, the air in her lungs disappeared.

She dropped to her knees, scratching at her throat, eyes watering, mouth open to scream but no sound escaping, no blood spilling from her wide-open chest. Wild eyed, she looked up at Dean for help, but he just watched, silently, with uncertainty and pain and curiosity flickering in his eyes. He wiped at his face, streaks of blood marking him as if it were war paint. She fell over onto her hands, and suddenly she was out of her body, watching next to Dean. She looked over at him, and he looked back at her, before pointing to her body.

Krista woke up screaming, the last image in her head being the vision of her eyes flickering to a bright gold.

Dean had been downstairs, grabbing a drink, when he heard Krista's scream. The glass fell from his hands, shattering on the tile as he ran for the stairs. He rushed into the bedroom, finding her pacing, staring down at her chest, scratching at her sternum, noises leaving her mouth that sounded like mixes of concerned whines and confused wails. She looked up at him, eyes red and puffy, tears streaking her face.

"What color are my eyes?"

"Kris, what are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"Dean, what color are my eyes?"

"Kris, sit down and tell me what's wrong."

"WHAT FUCKING COLOR ARE MY EYES."

"They're brown. Like always. Now will you tell me _what the fuck is wrong_?"

She stood still, or at much as she could with her body still shaking from nerves. She went to speak, but only a croak made it out of her throat before she stopped. She rubbed her face with both hands, wiping the tears from her face. She held her arms out, needing him.

"Jesus Christ, Krista, what the fuck happened?" He walks over, letting her wrap her arms around him before he reciprocated, kissing the top of her head. She suddenly just let go, letting sobs rack her body as he rubbed a hand up and down her spine, shushing her.

"What, did you have a nightmare or something?" She moved her face away from his chest to look up at him, nodding, sniffling. He smiled at her gently, kissing her forehead. "It's alright. I'm here. It was just a dream, nothing will hurt you, I promise. I won't let anything hurt you."

She laid her head back against his chest, shutting her eyes. His words would usually comfort her. Instead, they only made her anxieties worse.

* * *

Later that day, Dean had gone out with Roman for a run, "a human one, I promise," leaving Seth and Sami with Krista. Seth was his usual distracted self during full moon, staring intently at the trees, which made Sami roll his eyes in frustration.

"So what got you all shook this morning? We heard you scream but Roman told us to let you be once he heard Dean with you. It's not what we're used to hearing at that time of night from your room, so… just curious."

"Excuse me?!"

Sami pointed at his ears and sighed. "Hi, remember, _not human_."

Krista knew she should have felt embarrassed, but she instead hung her head, and shook her head. "That seems to be the issue."

Sami tilted his head looking at her. "Looks like you need story time with Sami."

Krista groaned, bringing her head up. "Yes, because your stories _absolutely_ cheer me up, Sami."

Sami shrugged. "I never said they'd cheer you up. They're stories that you need to know. That's all. So, you wanna spill what made you scream like a fucking banshee at, like, 4:30 in the morning?"

"It's stupid."

"Nothing you say is stupid."

She felt her head jerk slightly, before slowly turning to look at Sami. "You don't know me well enough to say that."

"I know enough from what Dean's told me. You're smart, much smarter than you give yourself credit for, I imagine. He fucking adores you, Kris, and I bet you anything, he'd probably agree with me. He's not standing over my shoulder right now, is he? I have a track record of him showing up when I'm speaking for him, you know."

Kris smiled weakly, shaking her head. "Nah, he's not spying on us this time."

Sami nodded. "Good. Now tell me."

Kris looked back at the floor, sighing heavily. "It's stupid, I'm telling you. It was some silly nightmare."

"Doesn't seem silly if Dean was holding you while you were sobbing." She went to speak up, and he shrugged. "Like I said, not human, I heard the crying on my own. I asked him what happened, he wouldn't tell me, said it wasn't anything to worry about. But it obviously was, if you were crying as hard as you were. So, spill the beans, Kris. I won't tell Dean, I promise you. Cross my heart and all that shit."

She threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "That's the thing, Sami. I don't know _what_ happened. I know it was a nightmare, and I have some idea of what happened, but I don't know how to explain it. I don't know if I was being killed, if I was being turned, I don't get it. I just remember blood, and trees, and howling, and Dean, and he was holding my fucking _heart_, and I grabbed it back from him, shoving it back in my chest, but then my body collapsed and I was outside of it watching, and then my eyes turned gold. And I woke up screaming. So I don't know if I'm afraid of being turned, if I'm afraid of him, I don't know Sami, I don't know and it's freaking me out."

Sami nodded, biting his thumb and staring at the wall of the kitchen intently, obviously thinking of something. "I have my suspicions, but I want to talk to Roman first before I go putting any ideas in your head. But, you're not the only one in the house to have wolf dreams, you know. I figured you'd expect that much, but I mean, while they're not the same as what us boys have, it's still a wolf dream. I've only had one nightmare in relation to it though."

"Was it like mine?"

"Nah. Yours was just a dream. Mine actually happened."

Krista nodded, acknowledging the meaning. "Your turning."

"Bingo. There's not a huge backstory to it like Dean's, nothing nearly as dramatic, but that's what makes it worse. It's not some huge 'conquering adversity' story or whatever. It literally was just shit timing on a shit day for a shit life. And I probably would be dead if it wasn't for your boy and for Roman.

"Dean and I had gotten _really_ shitfaced one night, we were down in Florida, which is where Roman's family is mostly located. Dean had been visiting, he had heard about him through Seth, who we had run into with us all being Midwestern idiots. So we're down in Florida, and Dean and I are absolutely trashed, and I decide that it's a good idea to play in fucking traffic. I mean, he was only drinking with me because I was not in a good spot mentally. I was feeling burnt out with what I was doing for work, the woman I was madly in love with was a giant raging douchebag, and here I was, traveling like a fucking hobo with a motherfucking werewolf who was trying to kick a goddamn drug problem. Like, how in the fuck had my life turned out like this, you know? I was only like, what, 22?

"So I decide to play in fucking traffic. Because, fuck it man, if werewolves existed, surely fucking God did, and if I wasn't supposed to die, he wouldn't let me die. The Dodge Ram that hit me decided otherwise, I guess."

Krista had grabbed herself a mug of tea, leaning against the kitchen counter listening to Sami's story. "Jesus Sami, you got hit by a truck?"

"Yup. Caught me just the right way too. Rib broke and punctured my lung, internal bleeding, the whole shebang. If they called a fucking ambulance, I would have died waiting for them. But instead, in some sick sense of fate, the shitstain driver ran, and Dean picked me up, and fucking _ran_. He bolted to Roman's, which was only about 10 minutes drive, which, you know, is a lot longer than would have been good to save my ass. So Dean fucking ran me there. He puts me down on the front steps, damn near beats down the door, and when Roman opened the door up, Dean just yells at him, 'FIX HIM.'

"And Roman's trying to talk Dean down, that he can't do this, he won't turn me, yadda yadda noble righteous bullshit. And so finally Dean goes and says that if Roman won't do it, he'll do it his fucking self. That I'm his best friend and…" Sami sighed, leaning his head backwards to stare at the ceiling. "That I'm his best friend and his brother and the only family he's really fucking got and that he's not losing me too."

Krista nods, hearing Sami sniffle a few times, knowing not to bring it up. "So who did it…Dean or Roman?"

"Roman. He wouldn't let Dean do it. He knew that as much as Dean wanted to save me, that he'd be too emotionally compromised to be able to shift enough to do it right, or even just to shift at all. So, Roman bit me, and with my fucking luck, it was a full moon, so I didn't have to wait to suffer in pain like Dean did. I had it all happen at fucking once. And you know what?"

"What, Sami."

"In some sick, twisted way…I didn't die. I may not be human anymore, but fuck…I didn't die."

Krista nodded, not taking Sami for being religious, and he probably wasn't, but it still was something to contemplate: who knew what was real anymore.

"So you have nightmares of changing?"

"Yeah. I remember going from not being able to breathe and being in severe pain and tasting blood to gasping in a large breath of air, to curling up in even worse fucking pain, and then…well…it's hard to put into words what it's like to see as a wolf. But every now and then, I remember the feeling of being on the brink of death, and then pain, and then…I don't know what. So, in some way, I know what you're going through."

She finished the rest of her tea silently.

"So has he told you he loves you yet?"

"Sami."

"No, I mean it. Has he told you yet. Have you told him yet?"

She looks into her mug, staring at the remnants of the tea leaf dustings placed there, wondering if she stared hard enough if she could get some message. She wasn't sure to what question.

"Kris."

"I haven't yet."

"But you _do_ love him."

"I. Yeah. Yeah, I do, and that's part of the problem, Sami. Is that in that dream… he literally had ripped my heart out of my chest. Not figuratively, not metaphorically. Literal, gaping cavity in my chest, he's covered in blood, holding my goddamn heart."

"Well at least you don't have to worry about needing to read one of those dream interpretation books."

"I'm serious, Sami."

"I am too. You're scared shitless of telling him, you're scared of what it could mean, you're scared of what he could ask of you. It's fine. It's normal to be afraid of telling the people you love that you love them. Him being a werewolf doesn't change that."

"I know Sami, but…"

"Nope. Tell him first. Be honest with him. If I know him as well as I think I do, he'll tell you he loves you too, and honestly mean it, and then if you have any concerns, go to Roman. He's like, the unofficial pack leader, I guess."

"What other stereotypical terms do you guys use?"

"Uhm. Why?"

"Because, I, uh… I don't want to be considered his _mate_. That sounds… just a bit too…"

"Animalistic?"

"Yeah."

"Who's saying you're his mate?" Sami smirks and winks, obviously poking fun at Krista to bring her at ease. She rolls her eyes and flips him off, and he throws his hands up in the air.

"Alright alright alright, I will make sure that you are not called that. I agree, it sounds a bit much. I don't understand why we can't use the term _girlfriend_ or _wife_ or whatever. Just because we aren't human, technically, doesn't mean that we don't pass for human. We can live our entire lives without people knowing. Why do we have to adhere to stereotypes?"

Krista nodded, and smiled. "You know what Sami?"

"What."

"Story time isn't all that bad."

He smiles sadly at Krista.

"You haven't heard every story yet."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** So this fic is turning into a monster, no pun intended. And to think, this started off as a one-shot on Tumblr! We're getting into the conflict real soon... I promise. Reviews are my friend. Love you all.

* * *

"So, how are things with you and Krista?"

Dean opened his eyes, having slumped against a tree to rest. Roman stood there, combing his long hair back with a hand. Roman hadn't really had a chance to talk to Dean, which Dean was thankful for in some way. He was always so serious, always talking in stereotypes, of calling them a _pack_, of calling them _werewolves_, and for some reason it made Dean bristle. Maybe this is what Roman grew up around, what he knew his entire life, but in the world that Dean came from, werewolves were horror movie monsters, and he was _not_ a monster. He refused to call himself that, not after seeing what a real monster could do.

"Things are good… she hasn't run screaming yet. At least not from me. At least not yet."

Roman nodded, leaning against another tree, before slumping down himself onto the grass. "Yeah, what was up with the screaming? I told Seth and Sami to stay behind, and I almost ran in, but I could tell that you got to her. Everything ok?"

"Yeah, she just had a nightmare…"

Roman nodded, silently appraising Dean's demeanor. His eyes seemed shifty, and he kept sucking his bottom lip in between his teeth, chewing at the skin there. He was keeping something from him, he could tell.

"Any clues on what it's about?"

"No. But I have my suspicions."

Dean looked over to see Roman, who seemed to be just staring at him, reading him, and it made him angry. He knew a lot of it was the moon at its strongest, the fullest illumination, but he couldn't help but snap.

"Enough with the silent bullshit. If you have a question, if you have something to say, just fucking ask it, I don't have the patience for this right now Roman."

"Fine. What do you think it was about?"

"I think she's fucking scared and is too noble or caring or whatever to tell me."

"That could be it." Roman sighed, cracking his neck, before continuing. "Listen, Dean, you've got to think realistically about this. She's had less than a week to become accustomed to the fact that you're a -"

"Don't you fucking say it."

"- a fucking _werewolf_. And you're going to have to get used to being called that, _because that is what you are._ It's what we all are. And the more you deny what you are, the more you try to brush it aside, the worse it's going to get for you. We are werewolves. We are a pack. You're going to have to get over your little issue about stereotypes real quick if you want to help Krista adjust to this, or else she's going to be just as clueless about this shit like you were when Seth told me about you."

"I was _clueless_ because I was changed, and I was only changed because I didn't fucking _die_. You got it so fucking easy, Roman, you know that? You grew up in a whole goddamn family of them, you knew what was happening to you when your body decided to feel like it was ripping apart, when your organs felt like they were on fire, when you felt your heart stop beating, and then ripping, shredding pain. Or did you not have that either, because I bet they coached you on how to shift without any hesitation, how to just let it roll over you, huh?

"Well, I didn't get that chance, ok? You know that, so don't you fucking _dare_ try to talk to me about getting over this, because I will never get over this. That jackass ruined _everything_ and it was nice pretending to be human for just a little bit longer, ok? Just…just let me have that. Please."

Roman leaned forward, his hair falling to surround his face like a hood. It was rare when he ever had to assert some sort of leadership role, he usually made sure that everyone had a say, that everyone could care for themselves, but enough was enough. If Dean wanted to play hardball, he'd play right along with him.

"Spare me the sob story, Dean. I've heard it already. And you know what, yeah, shit happens, and I'm sorry you had to have it happen to you the way it did, but look at the life you have now. Or would you rather be 'normal' and living in that shithole in Cincinnati with your mother? Would you rather still be on all of those drugs that polluted your system? Would you rather risk bleeding out in some fucking alley? Or would you rather be happy, healthy, and surrounded by people who love you? We all had to fucking sacrifice something, Dean, and if your idea of what being a human means is what you had to sacrifice, then you got out much fucking easier than the rest of us."

"And what the fuck did you have to sacrifice Roman? Please. Enlighten me."

"Any sense of individuality. You have no idea what it's like to grow up in an entire family of people with the same shit as you, they have these expectations of you, to lead the pack, to take a mate -"

Dean groaned, hiding his face in his hands. "Please, please don't use that word. Ever. _Ever again_."

Roman shrugged, "I'll give you that one. But yeah, just this heavy ass expectation resting on your shoulders, that you have to follow this family path that you didn't ask to be put on, but it seems to be the only thing you know, and everything else just doesn't result the way you want it. Why do you think I left?

"But you gotta know when to let shit go, Dean. And you can't help Krista if you can't do that. I understand your anger, man, I do. But you gotta know when to just ignore it and move on, or else you're never going to be able to be honest with Krista. You love her, man, we all see it. And the more you hold onto this fear about hurting her, this fear of her calling you a monster, the more it's going to drive a wedge between the two of you." He holds up a hand to stop Dean from interrupting. "It may not be happening now, but it _could_, and that's what you have to avoid. So, be honest, be open, and learn to just accept some shit and let some shit go."

Roman pushed himself off of the ground, dusting himself off quickly before extending a hand to Dean. "Come on, we should go rest up and eat before tonight." Dean looked at Roman's hand before grabbing it, pulling himself up. He went to start walking back, when he realized Roman hadn't let go of his hand.

"What is it?"

"Listen. You're my brother, and I love you. I only am hard on you because I know you can handle it. Plus, you were being a bit of a whiny bitch. But I mean what I said. You're going to have to get over a lot of your issues with you being what you are, or else you'll never be able to make Krista comfortable with it. You love her, and from what I can see, she adores the ever-loving hell out of you. And if you two are going to make this last, because I can see how you two are with each other, you're going to have to make some serious adjustments, or else you could lose her. And I know we agreed to not use the term but…"

"But what."

"She might be, y'know… I mean, it's up to you to decide, but she seems to fit that criteria."

"If you are insinuating what I think you are, yeah, it's up for me to decide, but uhm… you might be onto something."

Roman laughed, smiling while he pulled Dean in for a hug, leaning his head against Dean's in some symbol of closeness and connection. "Alright, I'm starving and your girl can throw down a mean steak, let's go."

* * *

Krista had taken the time to cook lunch, laughing when Seth grabbed her face and kissed her cheek, which was replied to with a fake-angry "hey! Get your paws off of her!" from Dean. The boys all ate quickly, Krista having chosen to wait to eat later when they all went out. As seemed to be the ritual at this point, after food came sex, and the minute the door had shut, it was Krista who made the move, desperately grabbing at Dean's belt, fumbling with the buckle in her rush to get his pants off.

"Whoa, hey, I'm not arguing, but calm down, it's not like it's gonna disappear."

"I just really want you right now."

Dean chuckled, running a hand down Krista's hair, twirling some of the ends between his fingers. "And just how badly do you want me?"

He was answered by her undoing his jeans, letting them drop to the floor before she sucked him into her mouth. He felt his head hit the door, his fingers clench in her hair, a whispered "_fuck_" dripping from his lips. He thrust shallowly into her mouth a few times, before pulling on her hair enough to get her to move off of him. "You. Bed. Now."

She nodded, wiping at her mouth. "Can I be on top?"

He groaned, pulling her up to her feet, before pulling her in for a kiss, deep, stealing air from her lungs. He broke the kiss, moving his lips to her forehead, muttering against her skin, "god I fucking love you."

He felt her body freeze and he moved his lips away, looking down at her. "What?"

"You… you said…"

"…Yeah? You said it first."

"…When did I say it first?"

"After I made you cum so hard that you nearly passed out… you said it just before you fell asleep. It was cute." He smirked, but soon realized that now was not the time to be joking. "Hey, no, look at me." He lifted her chin with a finger, looking directly into her eyes. "I like that you felt so comfortable and relaxed with me that you said it like that. You didn't feel some big pressure to be all formal with it, which took the pressure off of me, I hope you know. I don't ever want you to feel uncomfortable around me. Alright?"

"Ok…can you say it again?"

"Say what? I love you?"

Her face lit up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, "don't ever stop saying that."

He grinned, picking her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist, and kissed her gently. "I don't plan on it…now what was this about you riding me?"

She laughed into his neck, and moved back to look at him. "Put me down and we can absolutely make that happen."

* * *

Dean knew he should have gotten some rest in before the run that night, but he couldn't help but watch her sleep. She was lying on her stomach, her hair tangled from sweat and his fingers gripping at it, the sheet low against her back. He watched the pink and orange of the sunset glow off of her skin, and he gently traced a finger down the length of her spine, smiling to himself when she shifted positions in her sleep, muffled noises of irritation grumbling forth.

She had been so wild, in the good way, the way that she tangled her fingers in his as she had ridden him, how she rolled her hips and clenched tightly around him, how she'd bring his hands to her breasts, and how she would lean over to kiss and bite at his neck. It was almost as if the moon woke something up under her skin as well, and he knew his brain was placing images in his mind when he thought her eyes had turned gold when she looked down at him from on top.

What Roman had said was eating at him. He wouldn't change her, and he knew that's not what Roman was asking of him, but he knew that it was what usually happened. Or, at least, that's what he was told. He was in love with Krista, he knew that much, but was he ready for the level of commitment that Roman was asking?

He sighed, watching her, wondering what her dreams were of, what was in her nightmare that made her wake up screaming, asking about her eyes. He had an idea, which was another reason why he was so unsure of what Roman had suggested. How could he ask that of her, to be _his_, when she was having nightmares of becoming like them?

He was woken from his thoughts by a tapping against his chest, which turned into fingers gently clawing at the hair there. "Earth to Dean… you think too loud."

He smiled, kissing her on her forehead. "Welcome back, sleepy head."

"I did a lot of work, thank you."

"That you did… it's almost time, you know. You wanna go see the boys before we go off?"

"Yeah… can I watch? I'm curious. I just wanna see, for real, since last time I covered my eyes…"

Dean bit his bottom lip between his teeth again, sighing. He chewed at his lip gently, thinking for a moment, before shrugging. "Sure. I don't see why not."

She smiled, before nuzzling her face into the hair on his chest.

* * *

The time had come, and Dean stepped outside, wearing nothing but the jeans again, Krista following behind in pajamas and a sweatshirt. Sami was the first one to notice her, and waved at her, drawing Roman and Seth's attention to her. Seth bounded over, picking Krista up in a hug, putting her down after she swatted at his arm a few times.

Roman walked over, nodding at Dean, a silent affirmation of whatever progress this may have been. "Come to see us off?"

"Yeah. I asked Dean if it was ok, I wanted to watch for real this time. I kind of wussed out last time, which, I'm sure you guys think is understandable."

Roman chuckled, nodding. "I don't blame you, baby girl. You're gonna have to come into the trees a bit more though, is that ok?"

She nodded, looking over at Dean. "Whatever I have to do."

Dean smiled back, although the back of his mind was nothing but echoes of her screaming awake, and the thought of that flash of gold in her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** We're almost done with the flashback! And, if you've been paying attention, there is a _major_ callback to chapter 1 in this. A thing has been done!

Since we're heading into fall & the Halloween season, I'm deciding to share my love for Halloween with you all! Over at my tumblr, I'm taking requests and prompts for what is currently being called the Hexy Halloween Fanfic Spectacular. I will be writing one-shots that are based upon autumn and/or Halloween, and they will be posted the entirety of October. I'm taking them now, so in between school (which starts up next week), my new job (which also starts up next week), and these other fics, I can get them done in a timely manner. There will definitely be a story or two in the Howl universe, as well as one from Dakhanavar, my vampire!Seth verse! So if you want to send some cutesy or smutty or silly prompts, go on over to my Tumblr (username is the same) and send them in!

Reviews are always welcome, and as always, thank you for loving my silly werewolf story :)

* * *

They had hung around in the woods for a bit, talking and explaining to Krista more in detail what would happen, but when the sky had finally turned dark with just the glow of the stars and moon above them, Krista knew that she paled in comparison at that moment.

She watched in silent amazement at how Sami and Seth went first, Seth shifting silently, Sami gritting out an obscenity or twelve before it turned into growls. Dean looked back at Krista and winked, waiting until she blew a kiss at him before he shifted, probably one of the least painful ones of his experience, since he didn't have anything to fear in that moment.

Soon there stood three wolves, two black and one the golden brown she recognized as Dean, looking patiently at Roman. Roman shooed them off, as if to say he'd catch up with them in a few. Sami and Seth padded off deeper into the thicket, with Dean hanging back, firm in his stance. Roman rolled his eyes, and shooed Dean off, yelling, "I'll be there in a minute!" Dean huffed and started to walk away, pausing to look back once more, before running into the woods after Seth and Sami.

"Hey, Kris… I had to wait for the boys to run off, _especially_ Dean…but we need to talk. Nothing bad, I promise. Just… tomorrow? You and I. We need to chat." Roman smiled at Krista, his grey eyes slowly turning gold.

"Yeah, no worries Rome. We'll talk later. Go run, I can see it in your eyes." She smiled, kicking her legs from the low tree branch she had perched herself on. She waved at him as he jokingly saluted her.

"Get your ass inside, Dean'll kill me if anything happens to you. Go straight home, I fucking mean it!"

She laughed, hopping down off the tree, heading back towards the house.

"Keep an eye on him, Rome!"

"I ain't worried about him, I'm worried about you!"

* * *

The following morning, Krista once more found herself sneaking out of bed, leaving a murmuring Dean to grab her pillow and wrap his arms around it, nuzzling into the part where her hair had rested. She realized, her stomach doing a flip at the thought, that he smelled her. It was strangely adorable coming from him.

She tossed on jeans and a hoodie, not anything special, but as she crept downstairs, she saw Roman waiting for her as if he were going out. "You up for pancakes?"

"God, breakfast sounds like a plan right now."

As they closed the door behind them, Roman put his hands in the pockets of his jacket, reaching for his car keys and his phone. He bent his neck back and forth, sighing with content as a rewarding pop came from one bend. He reached the passenger side door of his SUV and opened it up for Krista, motioning for her to get inside. He got in on his own side after closing the door once she was seated, turning the vehicle around before making their way down the long driveway towards the main road.

"I figured we could get started talking in the car, since it's not that long of a drive, and some of the major stuff probably shouldn't be said in public…but I don't want Dean to hear it either."

"What _is_ it, Rome? You make it seem like it's big top-secret werewolf stuff… wait… _is it big top-secret werewolf stuff?_"

Roman stopped in the middle of the driveway, and looked at Krista. "Kris. I know you haven't had coffee yet, but think about what you just asked."

"That _was_ a bit of a redundant question, huh… top-secret and werewolf…"

"Exactly. But, no, it's not 'top-secret werewolf stuff.' It _is_ werewolf stuff though. Werewolf stuff that you have every right to know about."

Krista nodded, watching Roman as he drove down the rest of the driveway, before she paid attention to fiddling with the iPod hookup in the console. She clicked down the menu before finding a song, placing the iPod in one of the cup-holders between the seats. She stretched in a yawn, and sort of snuggled herself down into her hoodie a bit more.

"So, before we hit up wherever we're going for pancakes, you should probably get on that werewolf stuff. What's up? And why don't you want Dean to know?"

"Because it involves your relationship with him."

Krista looked out the passenger side window, the pale sky showing that the sun had just barely hit the top of the trees. It was early, _very_ early, almost _too_ early to be having a conversation like this.

"Krista. Look at me."

She turned her head at Roman, noting the seriousness in his tone by the use of her full name.

"I like you, ok? All of us, we like you a lot, and I'm sure you've heard it from the other two… Dean has _never_ told anyone he was seeing about what he is, what we are. Hell, we've never really met any of his other girlfriends. You're the first we've met. You're the first he's told. That means a lot."

"I know, Rome. You, Seth, Sami… you all have said the same thing. We've been together for about six or seven months now, he said you guys were bugging him about me, and what I'm getting from you guys is that he doesn't ever let relationships last that long either. So, yeah, I guess I'm different. Is this the part where I get the '_be careful don't hurt him_' speech?"

"No. This is about what may be expected of you."

"…expected of me?"

The car stopped at one of the few red lights on the expanse of road they were traveling, and Roman took the moment to look over at Krista. "Yes. Expected of you. I know that you are still really new to this, and that's fine. But that's why we're having this conversation, so you know what's up. Dean really likes you, ok? And from what he's told me, he's actually even said he loves you. Which, if you aren't aware, is huge for him. Massively huge. The fact that he feels comfortable enough around you to not only admit that he loves you, but to tell you this huge secret about himself, and introduce you to us, means he's thinking things, things he may not want to admit to. _Big_ things."

Krista leaned back in the seat of the truck. "What…like marriage?"

Roman laughed, looking straight to see the light having turned green. He continued driving, flicking his eyes over to her every now and then. "No, not marriage, Kris. At least, not that I'm aware of. But, uhm…you know how he hates the stereotypical terms and all that, right? I'm sure Seth gave you that warning."

"Yeah, and so did Sami."

"Well, there's one term that really gets under his skin."

"You mean _werewolf_?"

"No. _Mate_."

Krista let out a groan, hiding her face in the sleeves of her hoodie. "He's not the only one who hates that term."

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to speak up, that was muffled."

She dragged her hands down her face, looking over to Roman. "I said, he's not the only one who hates that term. I was just saying to Sami that the term gave me the willies."

"Why? Because of what it means?"

"I know you guys are werewolves, but… god it sounds just a tad bit too animalistic for me."

"Yes, I completely understand that, and that's why Dean doesn't like it either, but unfortunately for the both of you, it is its own designation. You can be mates without being married, and you can be married without being mates. It's happened before. People get remarried, people don't ever get married, these things happen. But it's a level of dedication and devotion that supersedes being just a significant other or a spouse. It doesn't even have to do with having children, if that's a choice you ever decide to make.

"It's an understanding. It's knowing what he needs even before he needs it, of knowing when it's the man or the animal speaking, of being able to be that stability, that humanity, that balance for him when he can't find it in himself. You seem to be that for him, Kris. I'm just hoping you understand that, because if he brings it up to you, I don't want you to go running screaming. He loves you. A _lot_. And if he gets up the balls to bring it up to you, I want you to be ready."

Roman signaled that he was taking a left turn, and after waiting for a few cars to pass, pulled into a parking lot for a tiny diner, one that advertised ice cream during the summer, and played music from the 1950s and 1960s from old speakers in the parking lot. He parked the car and looked over to Krista again, turning in the seat.

"Listen, it sounds like a lot of responsibility, I know. It sounds a lot scarier than it is. But you're sort of filling the spot now, but there's a sort of, well…I don't want to call it a _ritual_ because it's not, it's nothing like that really, but it's the only word I can bring to mind right now because it's early and I haven't had coffee or food yet. But I want you to be aware of what it is, in case he does bring it up and you decide to do it."

Krista nodded, her hands shoved in the front pocket of her hoodie, thumbs twiddling with each other.

"Kris. I'm being dead serious right now. I want you to know what you're getting into if you decide to do it, if he decides to bring it up."

"Alright, Rome, what is it."

"He has to bite you."

"THE FUCK HE DOES." She could feel her heart skip a beat at the memory of her dream, her eyes turning gold in front of her, the sight of Dean holding her bloody heart, his mouth covered as if he had eaten it.

"No no no no, Kris, listen. I'm not saying he has to _change_ you. He'd have to be full wolf to do that, and he'd never do that to you, not even if you begged him. Hell, he barely had it in him to attempt to change Sami, which is why I took that over before he got himself sick halfway through the shift. What I'm saying is that he has to bite you."

"Alright. Explain this to me. Because I'm confused. Doesn't him biting me means he's changing me?"

"That's if he's a wolf."

"…so he has to bite me as a human? You realize that's a really popular thing in sex, right…"

"Kris. Please."

She held her hands up, shrugging. "Sorry…go on."

"Yes, he has to bite you as a human. Yes, it's a popular sex thing. But here's the thing, Kris. It has to be on full moon. And, well, the other part is kind of hard to explain."

"Does he have to be fucking me while doing it?"

"KRIS."

"I'M SORRY."

"Ugh, he _doesn't_, but that's usually how it happens. Just, you both will know when it's the right time, as god awfully cheesy and stereotypical as that sounds. That's what I mean by people getting married without being mates, or people being mates without being married. You may be married to someone for 20 years, but if you don't ever have that moment of just _knowing_, of having that complete connection, then what's the point. But like I said, this is if he even brings it up. Knowing him, he'll clam up about it because he still gets twitchy over calling us a _pack_."

"Do you blame him, Rome?"

"No. I don't. Not really."

* * *

Breakfast consisted of homefries - "they're good, but not as good as yours, Kris." "Stop flattering me." - eggs, steak, pancakes, and never ending mugs of coffee. By the time they had left both of their wallets were lighter, both stomachs were fuller, and the parking lot was significantly more packed.

"Looks like we came at a good time."

"Yeah, we've been coming here for a few years, Dean's the last one to really make his way up here. He hates New England. He generally hates the cold, actually. So when he stuck around here, we knew something was up."

"Please, I know you mean well, but stop."

"What."

"Please stop advertising how much he obviously feels about me, because I feel like you're guilting me into doing this."

"Kris, I'm not trying to guilt you into anything."

"Then why do I feel that you're expecting Dean to ask me to be his, ugh god, _mate_, and expecting me to just willingly fall into his arms, damn near begging for it?"

"Kris, I was just giving you a warning."

"For a conversation that may not even be had this week, let alone this year, let alone ever. You said it yourself, if the feeling isn't there, then it isn't there. Putting these thoughts into my head of how special I am and how much I mean to him…"

"…what?"

"…it feels nice, ok? It's nice to feel wanted like that, to feel appreciated like that. I'm not used to it, Rome. I'm not used to it at all. My life never worked like that. I'd have a few dates at a bar; I'd go home to my apartment, and watch trashy television while working on assignments for night classes, or finishing up work that I brought home from the office. It just so happened that my blind date stood me up at the bar that Dean and who I now know was Sami were at that night. It was pure dumb luck that we ran into each other, and now here I am, not even a year later, being told about how he loves me so much that he admits to me that _he's not human_, and how his brothers aren't either, and now I'm being told essentially to expect the werewolf version of a proposal."

"Kris, the way you're talking, you're making it seem like I'm not guilting you at all. In fact, it sounds like you're projecting. So be honest with me. It's the least I can ask, we've been honest with you."

"We'll talk about it in the car."

She slammed the door to the SUV, crossing her arms, looking out the passenger side window as she heard Roman get in, starting the vehicle up, before backing out of the spot and pulling out onto the main road.

"Kris. Come on."

"I'm freaking out here, Rome."

"Why?"

"_Why?!_ A week ago, I was a regular working-woman living in the city, who barely talked to her parents, who tried to go to school to get a new career, and was dating a wonderfully _normal_ guy who didn't expect big scenes of devotion. He didn't really care overly about looking like he stepped off of a runway, he was ok with having cheap beer and buffalo wings at a dive bar and not eating at some fancy bar downtown, and he made me laugh."

"And what's changed?"

"Nothing. Except for the fact that he turns into a fucking wolf when it's the full moon."

"Well, we can turn whenever, it's just -"

"Roman. Please."

Roman took the hint, remaining silent.

"It's just… and take no offense to this, but I feel like the last bit of normalcy I had went out of the window. And yet, it's that very distinctly _un_-normal thing that's making me feel like life has never been more interesting. You know I actually contemplated seeing if I could work from home, so I could stay at the house with you guys? The thought of waking up every day next to him? The thought of cooking you guys food for when you came in from a run? It felt…nice."

"I never took you for a domestic type, Kris."

"I'm _not_. And that's what's frightening. Not the werewolf thing. It's the fact that I can honestly see myself playing the wife role, even without the ring or legal benefits. Being that other half. It… it's really disturbing to me at how comfortable I am with filling into that role. No one else has ever made me feel like that."

"So what's so scary about that? Shouldn't you be happy about that? You know that Dean would never ask you to sacrifice your independence or anything."

"I know that. I'm not scared about losing my independence. I'm scared that if he asked me today, I'd say yes without even thinking twice. I'm scared at how willing I am to do that for him, willing to do almost anything for him."

"…does this have to do with that nightmare Dean said you had?"

"Rome…I dreamed I was surrounded by wolves. With Dean holding my heart, literally, in his hands. He was covered in blood. My chest was ripped open. And when I grabbed the heart back to shove it in my chest, my breathing stopped, and I saw my eyes turn gold."

"You're afraid of being changed."

"I'm afraid that I'd ask to be."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** And here we are, the final chapter of the flashback! The last part of this will be back to the timeline from Chapters 1, 2, and the beginning of 3. Also, this chapter is _really_ important to me, for very personal reasons, so, please, feel free to let me know in the comments or over at Tumblr what you think. I'd really appreciate it. As always, reviews make me a happy Rae, and I'm still accepting prompts for the Hexy Halloween fanfic special over at Tumblr.

* * *

Krista closed the door to the bedroom behind her as quietly as possible, seeing the small strip of sunlight through the blinds streak across what was her side of the bed. Dean had shifted so his arm was laid out over where she would usually lay down. She toed her shoes off, and got down to just her tank top and panties, and tried to slip into bed as gently as she could, so as to not wake Dean. She managed to raise his arm enough to slide into the bed, placing his arm back down across her. Just as she put her head on the pillow, she felt his arm wrap around her and pull her towards him, hearing her taking a huge whiff of her hair.

"You smell like maple syrup."

"I do?"

"Yeah. You had pancakes. You had pancakes without me." He nuzzled his face into her hair more, taking another deep sniff, humming to himself.

She smiled, laughing silently. "I'm sorry baby, I didn't know I couldn't have pancakes without you."

"Nope. Now I want pancakes. Damnit."

"Go back to bed baby, I will make you pancakes later."

"No, 'm hungry now."

"You're half asleep."

"Maybe I'll eat you instead."

He pretended to start gnawing at her shoulder, making exaggerated noises, sleep making his actions just that little bit more ridiculous. When Krista felt a scrape of teeth, she froze, and quickly caught herself, swatting at his head.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep. I'll make you pancakes later."

"Hmph. Fine. Love you."

Her insides twisted, her heart doing a strange flutter, but her brain screaming at her. She loved him back, she knew that, she had told him that, but Roman's conversation weighed heavily in the back of her mind.

"Love you too."

* * *

"So uh… why'd you have pancakes? And with who?"

Dean had gotten halfway through his plate of food that Krista had made him, before looking up to see Krista appear as if she were distracted. When she didn't immediately answer, he snapped his fingers.

"Hey… earth to Kris… what happened?"

"Oh, uh. Roman and I went to grab breakfast."

"Really now? Seems like you got some good bonding time in with the brothers. Go ahead, you can tell me, I'll keep a secret… who's your favorite? I bet it's Sami, huh."

He gave her one of those cheesy grins of his, before taking another large bite of pancake.

"Well, yeah, it was bonding time, I guess. He wanted to talk to me about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Well, to quote him, 'werewolf stuff'."

She saw him flinch at the word. "Hey, nope, don't do that. I know you don't like the word, everyone gave me the warning, but it, uh… it's what you are. And if I'm gonna have to learn to be comfortable with the word, you gotta be too. You're the one who changes and all…"

"I ain't ever gonna be comfortable with that word, Kris."

"You should be, though. For your own sake. For my sake…"

Dean could tell she wanted to say more, but was trailing off because she wasn't sure how to approach it. He decided now wasn't the time. He finished his pancakes, took a final swig of his coffee.

"Come on, let's go upstairs, and we'll talk."

* * *

"He said _what_."

"He was explaining the whole… eugh, _god_, mating thing. Why do I feel like I'm stuck in National Geographic right now."

"_Hey now_."

"…sorry. No, but like, he explains what it is, and that it just sort of _seems_ like we're on that path, and then I told him that I felt like he was guilting me into it, he said it could be potentially _expected_ of me-"

"Fucking WHAT DID HE SAY?"

"Let me finish! And he sort of explained how it would happen, and kept talking about how different I am and that he just wanted me to know what it entailed in case it was ever brought up and-"

"And he didn't trust me to tell you that info if it ever came up?"

"I don't know, babe. But we kind of got into it in the car. I told him that I was freaking out about it and-"

He held up a hand to stop her, clenching it into a fist slowly in irritation.

"Why were you freaking out? Was it about us? Was it about me being a… _fuck_, a werewolf." He gritted out the last word, as if it left a sour taste in his mouth, as if it pained him to say.

"Well, kind of, but -"

"But nothing. I knew I shouldn't have listened to them. They rushed me into telling you, and now Roman's dropping _this_ shit on you, _without telling me, without trusting me_, and just…fuck."

Dean stopped his pacing momentarily to look straight at Krista, as if he were going to say something, and instead turned around towards the door.

"Roman and I are going to have a _nice fucking chat_."

"Dean, wait. Please. Before you go and say anything, just. Just wait."

Dean had made his way to the door and had his hand on the handle but stopped, his shoulders tense, before he let out a sigh and turned from the door.

"Fine. What is it, Kris."

"Yeah, I'm freaking out about the wolf thing, but not like how you think. I mean, it's been a few days, shit, almost a week, and I'm starting to see certain obvious traits that I missed before, and I'm ok. I mean, not _used_ to it, not yet, not fully, shit _you_ aren't even used to it yet, but I'll get there. I'm just freaking out because…"

"Because what."

"Because I'm stupidly comfortable with you. It's weird. The first person I'm truly comfortable enough around to apparently say that I love them _in my sleep_ isn't…well, isn't _human_. It's weird for me, because I don't know what that says about me. That I feel more comfortable around…"

"Around an animal."

She winced when she heard the bitterness in the way he said it. "…I guess?"

"Kris. It's not like I'm fucking you as a wolf."

"Oh my fucking god we are _not_ having this conversation right now, nope, not happening, sorry."

Dean walked back over towards the bed, sitting down next to Krista. "No, we need to. You're uncomfortable because you think it means you're into really weird shit, huh."

"It's not 'normal' to fuck a werewolf."

"Kris, _you're not fucking me in wolf form._"

"Yeah but-"

"Krista. What, do you think it's bestiality or something?"

She quickly stood up and started pacing, her hand in her face. "I cannot believe we are having this conversation."

"Well, we sort of fucking have to, especially if you're getting freaked out about the fact that I go furry every now and then, because I don't want you to think it's some big fucking taboo _to have_ _sex with your boyfriend_."

Krista turned, looking at Dean. "Oh no. You don't get to turn this on me. If you're going to be angry with anyone, go be angry with Roman like you wanted to be. Don't you dare get fucking mad at me for feeling weird because of how he used a term like _mating_, making it sound like you guys are goddamn animals. I'm sorry Dean, honestly, I really am. But please don't be mad at me for what Roman did."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're the one who said you felt like you were in a National Geographic special. You're the one who is freaked out by being in love with someone who's not human. Roman didn't make you think that _fucking me_ is equal to _bestiality_. That's a thought you had _all on your own_. So, please, go ahead, be honest with me, because that seems to be the fucking theme this week. I'm honest with you, against my better judgment, about what the fuck I am, and you decide to tell me _after__ the fact_ and _after_ you tell me you love me, that you're afraid that... ugh, no, fuck this."

He got up from the bed, walking back over to the door, opening it harshly.

"I'm sorry Dean, but-"

"'But' nothing, Krista."

Krista sighed as the door slammed shut, wanting to cry or scream or maybe both. Instead she crawled under the blankets on the bed, cocooning herself, wondering if it was worth it to go after Dean.

* * *

Roman could tell Dean was behind him before Dean had even said anything. "If you're going to talk to me, I suggest you take this somewhere more private, Dean, unless you want the rest of your brothers to hear this."

"Wow, what a surprise, you didn't call them the pack. How fucking _courteous_ of you."

Roman sucked his teeth, before chuckling to himself, still staring out at the trees, sitting on the steps leading from the back porch down towards the yard and the woods. "I'd ask who shat in your cornflakes, but I think I know the answer to that. I take it Kris told you about our conversation this morning?"

"Yeah. She did. And who the fuck do you think you are, exactly, to be having that conversation with her, Rome?"

"Your friend. Your brother."

"Cut the bullshit. You know you had no fucking place to tell her that shit. It's been a fucking week, Roman, that she's known about this, fuck, not even a fucking week. It's been six months that her and I have been together, she just fucking told me she loved me two or three days ago, and you go and drop, fucking… _fuck,_ the mate thing on her? What is your fucking malfunction?"

"I'm proud of you for not twitching when saying the word 'mate.'"

"Roman, I swear to fucking _god,_ now is not the time to be a sarcastic shit to me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you not like that?"

Dean's eyes widened at that.

"Dean, before you go and do something stupid, will you sit the fuck down."

"No, fuck this, I'm not having you fucking talking down to me again. You've always done this shit; you've always come in and try to make me seem like I need help, like I'm this unstable fucking stray that you stumbled across in some back alley. I came to _you_, only on the insistence of Seth. Everything I've ever fucking done has been for you guys. I came up here, _when you know I hate the fucking cold_, because this is where you all decided to shack up, for some stupid fucking reason. And I told Krista what I am, what we all are, all on your insistence. And now, she's worried that fucking me constitutes _bestiality_, and you telling her about fucking _mating_ didn't help that goddamn problem Roman, so, no, I don't feel like sitting down and being fucking lectured by you."

"Oh, so suddenly this is all of my fault."

"Well, whose fault _is_ it then?"

"Goddamnit Dean, why the fuck do you always have to blame shit on people. Maybe shit just _happens_. Did that ever fucking come across your thoughts, just once?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Roman, I forgot you don't like being blamed for shit, can't let your precious heritage down. Because, you know, you have to follow the rules and do everything the way your family does, god fucking _forbid_ you fuck up there."

"Dean, if you value your life, you'll be quiet."

"Oh, like how you stayed quiet talking to Kris about her relationship with me? I'd tell you to focus on your own relationship and mate situation, but _you don't have one_ because, oh look, _you fucked that up._"

Roman stood up, walking over to Dean, and got right in his face. "Boy, you're asking for me to punch you right in the fucking mouth."

"Yeah, ok, sure thing Uce, go right the fuck ahead." He motioned for Roman to come and try it.

Dean didn't expect Roman to actually punch him in the mouth.

The taste of blood in his mouth spurred Dean to catch Roman in the face hard enough to lead to what would become a black eye. Soon they found themselves fighting full on, punches and scrapes and scratches and bites leaving them both in pain, worse for wear, and sporting bruises and bloodied mouths, glaring at each other. Dean spit out a mouthful of blood, holding his ribs.

"You're such a fucking asshole, Roman."

"Takes one to know one."

"No, really, you're a dick, you know that? You make me tell Krista what we are, and then you spring all of that information on her. It's like you fucking knew she'd freak out. Why…" He coughed, wincing at the pain in his side. "Why would you fucking do that, if you're my _brother_?"

"Had to test her, man."

"If I didn't think my knuckles were broken, I'd punch you in the dick for that."

"Listen man, we all like her. We like her a fucking lot. I just wanted her to know what she could be getting herself into, ok? I meant fucking well, and deep down, you fucking know that."

"No, Rome. Sometimes, good intentions make shit fucking worse. Because it's like you didn't trust me to tell her when I felt it was a good time. Like, god, I wanted her to be eased into this life a lot fucking easier than I was, man. I was trying to protect her."

"If it were up to you, she would never have known."

"And that's a problem I would have handled on my own time, Rome."

They were both silent for a few minutes, both trying to regain breathing and deal with the pain. Roman got up slowly, and headed towards the stairs, to head down to the woods.

"And where in the fuck are you going?"

"To go shift and then shift back. It'll fix everything. Plus, get some of that last anger out. You wanna go?"

"Nah man. I don't use this shit as a crutch."

"Trying to hold on tightly to being a human, I see. Is that why you didn't want to tell Kris?"

"Man, fuck you."

"Fine, I'm sorry, ok? Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry that I had enough faith in your relationship with Kris, and got a good read on her, that I thought she should know something that is potentially in her future? I see how you look at her, man, she's _it_ for you, I can tell. Just, just fucking humor me, do you get that vibe from her? Do you see her as being your mate?"

Dean did. He knew he did, it bothered him that Roman could tell this shit so easily, but he wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Instead he pulled himself up, arm still wrapped around his midsection, and spit more blood out.

"Wouldn't you love to fucking know."

* * *

Krista didn't remember falling asleep, but the sound of Dean stumbling into the room, muttering to himself, knocking things over in his path, is what woke her up. She rolled over, expecting to see him still angry, but instead she found him bloodied, bruised, and looking almost upset.

"Dean, what the fuck."

"Don't worry about it. Just, _fuck_, we're heading home. Rome and I had it out. I don't wanna be here anymore. You gotta head back soon for work anyway."

Krista nodded, getting out of the bed slowly, watching Dean wince when he tried to stand up.

"Shit, babe, you should go to a doctor."

"Nah, I'll be ok, we heal quick. Quicker if I shift, but, nah, this was for a good reason, I wanna feel the hurt a little bit, as weird as that sounds."

"I hope this wasn't about me." She made her way over to Dean, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes, the sweat mixing with some blood at his temple.

"It was. Kind of. Mostly. Don't worry about it. Just get dressed and grab the shit you need, we'll keep the rest of the stuff here. And uh…is it cool if you drive?"

She rolled her eyes, grabbing the keys off of the nightstand. "Yeah, it's fine. You're a mess, you know that?"

He smiled, face cringing slightly at a wave of pain through his back as he stood up a bit straighter. "Yeah. I know. You love me though."

"Yeah. I do. Damn it all."

* * *

Krista sighed, going to scratch at an itch on her shoulder, when she pulled her hand back in pain.

Suddenly the events of the night flashed back at once in her brain. She touched her shoulder again gently, feeling the dried blood and the ridges where her skin had broken under Dean's teeth. The feel of the bite made some strange turn in her organs, as if something inside her that was decidedly not there before woke up, that it twisted within her. It tickled, almost like fur. _Oh no_.

"Uhm...babe?"

"Yeah?" Dean had his eyes closed, still playing with her hair, enjoying the feel of her body against his.

"We need to talk."

"We're talking now, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but I mean, we need to _talk_."

"What about babe, can it wait, this is just really nice right now."

"I don't think it can wait."

Dean sighed, but continued to play with her hair. "Krista, just tell me what it is."

He felt her hand grab his, pausing the twirling of her hair, and moved his hand towards her shoulder. Where he bit.

"What is it babe?"

"Dean...you _bit_ me."

He looked down at her, confused for a split second before realization dawning on his face. He looked at her eyes, really deeply, and he wasn't sure what he saw, but something looked different in them...something not entirely human. She wasn't changed, but something had passed between them, through that bite.

"I think... I think I'm your mate now."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Welcome to what I like to imagine as the second season of Howl. It's easier to think of it in seasons or arcs, because we're reaching a second plot point just about now. So if the first 10 chapters were a season, I'd say the theme song for that season was Florence + The Machine "Howl", which is where this story gets its title from. The theme for this season would be "Feral Love" by Chelsea Wolfe. I appreciate all of the love and support you guys have given me with this story, reading snippets to give me feed back, expressing concerns or potential plot points in the comments, or just giving it love. Seriously, you guys, that makes me so happy, you have no idea. I hope this doesn't go into a second-season slump, that'd _suck_, considering this is the calm before the storm. And that's the only spoiler you'll ever get from me. Without further ado...

* * *

"Awww, _fuck_."

Dean looked at the bite on Krista's shoulder, grimacing at it. This was not how he imagined the evening - shit, early morning - going. He looked over at the window and saw that it was sunrise. Shit, _fucking morning_.

"Shit… _shit shit fuck godfuckingdamnit_."

"You sound so thrilled."

Dean looked over at Krista, and he rubbed a hand down his face. "No, it's not that, I'm happy, I swear, I'm thrilled, I'm tired and still kind of out of it and shit, but like… I didn't…"

"Didn't want to make me your mate?" She sounded sad, confused, which made Dean feel bad because he knew he was coming across this the wrong way.

"What? Fucking… no, not that at all," Dean started fumbling around his side of the bed, knocking an aspirin bottle off of the side table in his search for his phone. "It's just not how I fucking planned it." Dean had muttered to himself, not realizing that his internal thought had made its way past his lips.

"…you were planning it?"

_Awww fuck._ Dean froze, closing his eyes when he realized that she heard him. He wasn't quite sure if he'd say he'd _planned_ it, more as he knew it was going to happen, knew that he didn't want it to be on a whim, he had at least wanted to have the conversation with her first, he knew it couldn't really be planned, but he still felt… wrong, having sprung this on her. What if she wasn't ready?

"I… _yeah_. Like, nothing serious, but-" The rest of his sentence was cut off by him letting out a rough breath as Krista tightly wrapped her arms around his waist, knocking him backwards on the bed. He laughed as she moved her arms and instead sat on him, straddling his hips, but it wasn't sexual, this was all excitement and was actually kind of adorable.

"So… so you _want_ me as your mate?"

"Well it's too late to take that back, now isn't it?"

"I gotta call Sami… you gotta call Rome!"

"First of all, why do _you_ get to call Sami, and second of all, _why do I have to call Roman_?"

"One, Sami likes me better, secondly, Rome's gotta know."

"One, Sami's known me longer, so shut it you, and secondly, Roman - and when the fuck did you two get so chummy that you can call him Rome all casually and shit - doesn't need to know shit."

"One, Sami said I'm cuter, and secondly, Roman is your _brother_, as much as you two may wanna murder each other."

"One… yeah, ok, Sami may be on to something there, and… shit, Kris, you know how shit ended with Ro and I."

"Look, you called him Ro!"

"Ugh, go call Sami..."

Krista grinned and kisses Dean's cheek, before moving off of him to grab her phone. She knew it was really early, but she also knew that if Sami saw that she called this early, it was big. She swung her legs off of the bed, needing to walk around whenever she had phone conversations. She pressed the contact for Sami, which was programmed as "pillow" - Sami's insistence - and waited semi-patiently through the ringing. She didn't expect the grumbled voice of a woman on the other line.

"'Ello? Krista? What's up… it's early."

"Oh, hey Jess, sorry… is Sami there, or is he dead to the world?"

"Nah, he's not entirely dead, hold up… _Sami wake up it's Krista… Fuck if I know, she isn't crying, so I don't think Dean's dead… just… just take the fucking phone…_ Alright, here he is."

Krista smirked as she heard the sleep-heavy voice of Sami's hit the line. "Krista… if you or Dean ain't dying, there better be a fucking good reason you're calling at the ass crack of dawn."

"Yes Sami, there's a good reason…" She quickly muted the phone and looked at Dean. "Do you wanna tell him, or should I?"

"How about I just yell it over your shoulder?"

"That works." She unmuted the phone, and placed it on speaker. laughing nervously. "So, uh, yeah, Sami…"

"I DID A THING," Dean yelled from over Krista's shoulder into the phone, laughing as Sami sputtered over the line at how loud Dean was.

"Fucking shit dude… good morning to you too, goddamn. And what do you mean, _did a thing_?"

Krista took the moment to speak up. "He did a thing alright, Sami."

"You're pregnant."

"Wrong."

"You're engaged?"

"Uh… close?" Krista made a face at Dean as if to say she wasn't sure if they were, she just figured it was the closest thing to it. Dean shrugged, not sure entirely what answer to give her, but knowing they'd have to talk about it very soon, once the rest of the pack - yeah wow ok pack doesn't sound weird anymore - found out.

"If you aren't knocked up, and you're not getting hitched, then..."

Krista bit her lip, trying hard to not laugh as Sami's sleep-laden brain chugged slowly into the thoughts. She suddenly heard Jessicka reach the conclusion before Sami. "NO FUCKING WAY, THEY'RE MATED. SAMI. SAMI THEY'RE MATED."

"Jessicka shut the f- _oh my god you guys are mated._"

Dean and Krista both sighed and went "yeaaaaaah", before staring at each other and kind of smirking, both thinking to themselves, _well that didn't take long_.

"Oh my _god_ you two are sickening, it's too early for all this sugary bullshit. Congrats dude, congrats sis. Since you _are_ my sis now." Sami's massive grin could be heard through the phone, and Jessicka yelled in the back "Welcome to the club! When you getting bit? Ow, Sami, what the fu-"

"Don't mind Jess, she's still a bit tired, _aren't you sweetie_. Welp, we're gonna head back to bed, but we'll have to hang out and celebrate soon. You told Roman or Seth yet?"

Dean felt his back straighten at Jessicka asking about when Krista would be bit, but Krista seemed to ignore it altogether, telling them that they were going to call Roman after, and then call Seth.

"Ah, well, Seth is probably over Roman's, so you might kill two birds with one stone that way. But yeah, we'll definitely have to catch up soon, Jess has been _dying_ to meet you in person, ever since I told her the pillow story."

"I was wondering why you were programmed in his phone as 'assassin', that's all!" Jess shouted in the back, and Krista groaned.

"Really, Sami? 'Assassin?' You're in my phone as 'pillow.'"

"NO HE ISN'T… IS HE?"

"Jessicka, _go back to fucking bed_. Alright Kris, I'm gonna head back to sleep and shut this one up. Talk to you later. You too Dean."

Dean snorted. "Oh, I get it, I'm second fucking fiddle now, huh."

"You've been second fiddle since I first met Kris."

"You're lucky I can't reach through a cellphone." Dean was laughing, which Krista was happy to see.

"Later you two." And with that, Sami hung up the phone, leaving Krista to hold her phone in her hand, shaking with laughter. Dean wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her other shoulder, his fingers tracing very gently around the edge of the bite he had left.

"Before you call Roman, let's put some Neosporin and bandages on it. Not that I'm gonna infect you or anything, but they say the human mouth is a disgusting place."

"You're not human, Dean."

"Shut up and let me take care of you."

After Dean had fussed with Krista, cleaning the bite gently and placing the ointment and bandage on it - "Dean it's not an animal bite, not really." "Shut it you, let me do this." - he was staring at his phone, telling himself silently that he could call Roman. He hadn't spoken to him in the year and a half since their fight, knowing that it was petty to ignore the text messages and phone calls that eventually disappeared, but he had a good reason to be mad at Roman, then and now, even with how the events of the night had turned out. It was the principle of the matter, or at least that's what he kept telling himself as he stared down at the phone, finger hovering over the screen to call him.

"Dean. Just call him. I'm sure he'll answer when he sees it's you, especially how it's so early in the morning. He knows we both sleep like the dead, so he'll pick up. I promise. You gotta do it."

"I don't know why _you_ couldn't call Roman and I couldn't call Sami, but ok, fine, whatever." He grumbled to himself, sitting down on the edge of the bed, foot tapping nervously as he heard the few rings.

It kept ringing.

"See he's fucking ignoring me, I told you Kris."

"Well, if it's on silent, maybe. Just leave a message for him. He'll call back."

"Yeah ok sure-"

"…Dean?" It was muffled, probably had his face half buried into a pillow, but that was definitely Roman's voice.

"Yeah… yeah, uce, it's me." Krista didn't miss how Dean had fallen back into the term of endearment that Roman and his family had taught him, and she felt her lips twitch into a smile as Dean's shoulders slumped in relief a little.

Dean sat there, listening to Roman clear his throat, trying to take the brokenness from sleep out of his voice. He finally spoke up, still muffled slightly, but somewhat clearer than before. "So, why you callin' this early after not talking to me for almost two years?"

"I have something important to tell you."

"Spit it out, Dean, I'm fucking tired."

"I'm… _fuck_, I'm mated."

Roman was quiet for a minute, leaving Dean to start tapping his foot nervously again.

A chuckle was all Dean heard before a sigh. "Well, no shit, you did the thing."

Dean laughed out loud at that, almost a bark, before going, "Yeah that's what I told Sami. Should I call Seth or is he still camping out at your place?"

"Nah, he's here, I'll let him know. You know how he is when you wake him up."

"Yeah… so, we should all uh…"

"What, you want the gang back together?"

"We're not a gang, Roman."

"Then what are we Dean?" Roman had a teasing edge in his voice, knowing he was needling at Dean to get used to the terminology still.

"We're a pack."

"You're damn fucking right we are. Give Krista my love. I'll call you later with plans."

Dean nodded, telling Roman he'd talk to him later, and then ended the call, placing the phone on the bed. He looked over at Krista, who was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Don't you say a fucking thing." He pointed over at her, holding his finger up accusingly while looking back at his phone to see a text from Sami that said -_plans later?-_

"I didn't have to, you already knew."

"He's going to tell Seth, and then he's gonna call later with plans. Sami just texted me asking about plans."

"So the pack's coming back together huh?"

"Yeah… I guess so. Big occasion and all."

"…I should buy steak, huh."

"Yup. Lots of it."

* * *

They had decided to sleep in some more, enjoying the last vestiges of quiet they'd have for a few days. Even then, it was very barely sleep, but more of a strange meditative trance, their eyes were open, and they were conscious of each other's presence, but it seemed that it was the only thing they could notice.

Dean would trace a finger over the bandage on Krista's shoulder, gently, half in tender caring, the other half in some strange sense of awe that he had done that, had done this, had made this huge step forward without realizing his feet were moving.

Krista would cuddle in against his body more, smelling the soap and the salt of his skin and still, deep down, the smell of the woods, and it was as if she could close her eyes, she could see the colored leaves in vivid hues, splashing against her eyes, she could hear the crunch of them beneath her feet. She loved the autumn, it was her favorite, for various reasons, ones that only make sense to someone from the Northeast, and because it was when she had met him.

Here they were, a little more than two years later from that, and she was wrapped up in his arms and a low resting blanket, sore in all of the right ways, and wow, his _mate_, that's a weird term still, what does that even mean for them. Does this mean they talk about marriage? Is it a necessity? She knew Roman had brought it up years ago, that it could happen with or without, and vice versa, but she didn't know if this was just the afterglow of the process, or if she truly felt like this before and had just never shed light on it, but… yeah, maybe she'd be ok with that, if Dean would be ok with that. She didn't want to force him into something he didn't want, but who knew anymore.

She closed her eyes, the grazing of his fingers down the side of her arm, mixed with the steady rise and fall of his chest and the firm consistency of his pulse, lulling her finally into sleep. The feel of Dean's lips on her forehead was the last sensation she remembered before beautiful, deep, blissful sleep, and, oddly, dreams of chrysanthemums.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**: Hey everyone. Just a brief update. This fic is going to get a side-story treatment much like how Sir did. As we start to get closer to the end (no worries, we're only about halfway through), I'll start posting little bits about the characters and their past. So you'll probably learn more about Seth's background. Learn some stuff about Krista. And more characters as they're introduced, because there's still some people you've yet to meet. Thank you to everyone for your continued support for this story. It is astounding how much love you guys have given this. It makes my heart happy, and I enjoy writing something that I know people clamor for.

Reviews, as always, make me a happy Rae.

* * *

Krista didn't know why she was nervous, it's not like she had never met these people before. Okay, maybe not Jessicka, but _still_. Maybe it was because everyone had sort of moved on with their life at some point. Sami had Jessicka, Roman had started taking classes towards his Masters degree, and Seth… you never knew with Seth. He just _existed_, did whatever was necessary to living, and then whatever sounded good.

Her and Dean, on the other hand, seemed to be reaching a crux in their relationship. They had moved in together after a year of being a couple, choosing her apartment over his place. The house, while Dean considered it "his," and by all intents and purposes, on all the paperwork it _was_, but it was the pack's, and they couldn't commandeer it all the time. However, she had started to notice more and more that the rest of the brothers started living there less and less, moving into their own places nearby, except for Sami and Jessicka, who had moved to Florida, but routinely came back up north for visits.

Things looked like it was opening a doorway that would lead Krista to a future with Dean, and while she loved him and love the thought, some part of her was still scared. She wasn't sure of what, but she tried to not think about it. The doorbell ringing knocked her out of her thoughts, thankfully, and she placed her tablet down on the couch, heading over to the side door in the kitchen. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of a woman with long black hair, part of her head shaved, tanned skin, and bright eyes. She grinned widely at Krista. "Oh! You must be Krista! I'm Jessicka." Suddenly, Sami's voice shouted from beyond Krista's vision.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL HER KRISTA. CALL HER KRIS. I CAN'T SAVE YOU FROM MURDER FROM OVER HERE."

Krista rolled her eyes and peeked around the door to see Sami struggling with bags and the trunk of a rental car. "Sami. It's fine. Do you need a hand?"

"NAH I GOT IT."

She looked over at Jessicka, shrugging. "Men. Gotta love them." She opened the door wider to allow Jessicka in, keeping it cracked slightly for Sami to barrel his way through eventually. "I didn't think you guys would be the first ones here, since, you know… Florida."

"Meh, it's only a two hour flight, and right after we hung up with you, we couldn't fall back to sleep."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry about that."

"Shush, don't worry about it, we were just so happy for you guys. We packed our bags, bought a plane ticket, and here we are! Just _god_, I'm so excited to have a sister! Like, a _pack_ sister, I mean, I consider my friends my sisters and -"

"And Jessicka has a bad habit of rambling when she's excited. Get your ass over here, Kris!" Sami had dropped the bags harshly on the kitchen floor and opened his arms wide. Krista walked over for a hug, but was soon lifted off of the ground and swung around a little, causing a scream of delight to worm its way out of her lips.

"Sami, dude, I _knew_ you liked her better than me, but fuck, in front of Jessicka?" Dean was leaning against the wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the house, grinning as Sami noticed him. Dean moved from the wall, walking over to Jessicka, and hugged her tightly, which seemed to take her by surprise. "So you're the one to tame my idiot brother."

"I resemble that remark." Sami laughed, putting Krista down and ruffling her hair.

"Fuck, Sami, I know I'm short, but leave the hair _alone_."

Dean and Jessicka had been whispering to each other, smirking at Sami and Krista, before nodding to each other. "We just realized that we never celebrated you guys either." Dean had skipped over the word "mating," which didn't escape Krista's notice. _Why the step backwards?_

"Huh. Yeah, you're right. But first, how about you stop flirting with my mate and say hello to your long lost brother, you douchebag?"

* * *

They had been sitting outside while Dean grilled up some steaks, Krista relaxing on one of the patio chairs in her sweater and leggings. It was a weird time for New England weather: not exactly Indian Summer, but not regular autumn either. In the morning, you'd need a thick sweater or a hoodie, but by noon you were nearly sweating to death. It made dressing, and cooking, quite a pain in the ass, which is why they decided, _eh screw it_, and grilled some steaks while there was still some semblance of warmth. It was the middle of October, and Krista was enjoying the beauty of it all.

She wasn't trying to fall asleep, honestly, but there seemed to be just something calming about the entire scenario. Jessicka was happily grabbing drinks for everyone, while Sami was chatting Dean's ear off, telling him about life back down in Florida. It felt peaceful, having the family back together.

Huh. Family. It was strange that she considered these people her family when her own was so scattered and so distant. What was that phrase again… _the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb? _She knew it was always misquoted, but right now, the proper meaning really hit home. She had finally told her parents about Dean, and while they were happy for her to have found someone, they didn't really make any efforts to meet him. It upset her, probably much more than it should have, she didn't know why she was so surprised by their lack of interest, but, then again, that was her parents for her. She'd always find some way for them to surprise her.

She was dozing off, between the cool autumn air, and the contentment of the scene, and whisked away by her own thoughts, when she heard a booming, "baby girl, I know you're not falling asleep on me right now." She caught herself, and looked over, seeing Roman standing there, hands on his hips, giving a jokingly disapproving glare. "Get up and come see me, or I will pick you up otherwise."

She smiled, and simply opened her arms, inviting Roman to pick her up. She didn't know why she was so exhausted suddenly, but it was nice being cradled in his large arms, even momentarily. Roman looked down at her, his hair loosely pulled back, and smiled. "Missed you."

"And I'm chopped liver, I get it guys, I was an asshole, what the fuck."

Roman laughed, looking up at Dean, before placing Krista back on her feet, walking over to Dean. He reached his hand out to grab Dean, before pulling him in tightly for a hug, patting at his back. "You may be an asshole, but you're my brother. I missed you too, uce."

"Sorry I was a shit."

"Nah, I deserved it, honestly."

"I must be dreaming, you, admitting you were a jerk?" Dean grinned at Roman, before his face falling a bit and him peeking around Roman's arm. He quickly pushed Roman away and ran over to Krista, grabbing her right as she started to feel her knees buckle. She opened her eyes to see Dean staring down at her with concern, before she closed her eyes, welcoming peaceful sleep back.

* * *

She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself in the middle of the bed, with plenty of blankets and pillows near her, if not on her directly, with Jessicka sitting at the foot of the bed crossed legged, watching her. Seth was sitting on the dresser, looking down at his phone, and Dean was half asleep in the chair in the corner of the room, his body bent uncomfortably, but obviously worn out from worry. How long had she been asleep?

She moved gently to go from her side to her back, when she heard Jessicka speak up. "Hey there, sleepy head. Welcome back." Seth looked up from his phone, smiling slowly when he noticed that Krista was awake.

"Hey Jess… is that Seth?"

"Yeah sweetie it's me. How are you feeling?"

"'M good. Really tired. Not sure what happened…"

"I think Jess is the most qualified to give us this answer, so…" Seth looked over at Dean's form, his minimal amount of sleep being fitful at best. "Should I wake him up?"

Jessicka and Krista both looked over, and looked back at each other. "That's up to you, Kris."

"He might be mad if he sleeps through this, Jess. I think he'd like to know, if you have an answer for what the fuck just happened."

"Yeah. Alright. Seth, you wanna get him?"

"Sure thing." Seth slid off of the dresser, walking gently over to Dean before making a shushing motion with his hand, and leaning right into Dean's ear. "HEY ASSHOLE."

Dean jumped up out of his chair, yelling, nearly knocking Seth out in the process. Seth fell backwards onto the ground, holding his stomach laughing, hearing Dean try to catch his breath.

"Seth… first of all, what the fuck. Second of all _what the fuck_."

"Bro, your mate is awake."

"I have a name, Seth."

Dean's face lit up a little at hearing Krista's voice, as sleep-heavy as it was, and he moved over to where she was in bed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, before crawling onto the bed next to her, playing with her hair gently. He had his touchy-feely moments, most of them did, she wondered if it was some weird wolf thing, but this was a bit much, even for him.

"Alright, well, Seth's right, I probably have the most authority on the subject between all of us. But as someone who is mated-"

"Congrats on that, by the way." Seth interrupted, wincing when he did so.

"Thanks Seth. But yeah, ok, so this is going to sound really weird, but like… you guys have to remember, she's a Mundie."

"A what?"

"Uh, mundane. Like, a human. I'm only saying that because where Sami and Dean were both changed, it feels wrong to just say human, because they kind of are still, shit, we are all still somewhat human. So, that term makes more sense to me.

"Anyway, you're only a Mundie. And you just were chosen as a mate. And, from what it appears, this sort of just sprung up on the both of you, which, whatever, that happens more often than you'd imagine. Neither of you had anyone to sort of teach you too much about it, you sort of knew from some hearsay but never anything concrete. So, you wouldn't have known this. But Kris, that's why you passed out. Your body couldn't handle it.

"I mean, like, it drained a lot more energy for you than it would have if you were a wolf, because it's a very specific energetic bond. It doesn't seem like much, because you know, just a bite, but it… I don't know, it's hard to explain, but it's like it links your hearts and brains together. So now you're linked to a supernatural being, whose brain is going a mile a minute, who has senses that have ranges your brain can't even compute, and you have to suddenly support all of that energy after twenty-something years of not having to do that. It's draining on anyone, but especially when you're also low on sleep and haven't eaten.

"You ever heard of the Spoon Theory?"

Krista nodded slowly, "yeah, the HR department at my work has a poster up about it, one of our supervisors has MS, so she explained it to us."

"Think of it like that. You didn't have the spoons for it today. Or, you went through them too quickly."

Dean and Seth sat there, watching as if Krista and Jessicka were speaking another language. Seth, mainly because he was always still learning something knew about the world they lived in, and Dean, because he felt like he had just placed a health risk on Krista.

"So, Jess… will this keep being a thing for her?" Dean looked nervous, his fingers tapping against the pillow next to Krista's head. The rhythm, in some weird way, grounded her, resonating through her skull.

"Well, I'm not too sure, I'm a hereditary you know. But, uh, I imagine that her body would eventually get adjusted to it, so she'd know when she was starting to run on empty. I can't imagine that it'll ever balance out completely because, I already said, she's Mundie and you're _not_. You're going to produce so much more energy in such a wider range than she can, which is fine, and I know plenty of Mundie-wolf relationships that work out swimmingly. But in order for her to not get drained at random? Her best bet, honestly, is to get changed."

Krista nodded slowly, her vision blurring slightly as she felt fatigue hit her again. Dean looked down, noticing her become unfocused, and brushed some of her hair away from her forehead.

"I think we'll finish this conversation later or tomorrow. Everyone's here, Sami and Roman finished cooking up the steaks, so, why don't we all eat. I'll bring my food up here, and I'll make sure Kris gets some food and some rest, and then I'll come down and hang out with you guys. We need to catch up."

Seth nodded. "I'll let them know, and maybe we can take shifts watching her, like the last time she was here and passed out. Only this time, let's hope she doesn't try to murder Sami with the pillow."

Jess sighed sadly, "I wish someone would tell me that story…" She watched Seth walk out of the door, and she looked quickly over to Dean. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Dean nodded, looking down at Krista. "I'm just gonna be right outside the door, you holler the minute you need me, ok?"

"It's fine babe, I'll be right here."

Dean smiled, kissing her on the head once more, before getting off of the bed and following Jess outside of the door.

Jessicka closed it gently, and let her shoulders drop. "Listen, Dean, I'm sorry. I could tell how irritated you were getting. I don't want to step out of place here, but…"

"Jess. This weekend is supposed to be a good weekend. I didn't talk to Roman for two years when he wanted to give his advice. Please don't make me do that to you."

"I'm just saying. I know you didn't know, and that's fine, whatever, like I said, nine times out of ten they work out fine. But, I do think it would be in her best interest to get changed."

"I'm not doing that to her."

"Dean, you may not have that choice if it means seeing her potentially weak at random."

"I can't take that choice from her."

"I'm not saying you have to do it right now. Talk to her about it, when you're both ready. Just, enjoy the mating, ok? Just know that this is something you're going to _have_ to address, and the sooner you do it, the better."

She clapped a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with concern and yet a firmness in her eyes. She wasn't going to budge from this, and Dean knew she came from a place of concern and knowledge. She was a hereditary, but she knew about the mating process, and obviously knew enough to ask about the process for humans - fuck what other terms she called them, they were humans and that's that- so she may in fact have been the best person to ask. He nodded at her, and with that she pat her hand against his chest once before walking away towards the stairs.

Dean closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths, hoping to calm himself down before going back into the room. He didn't want Krista to get any inklings of there being any vague sense of discomfort in their conversation. He cracked the door open, and she was already back asleep, curled back up onto her side, clutching onto a pillow. It was a bittersweet vision. On the one hand, she was his _mate_, a term that he was slowly starting to not despise, a word that felt heavy on his tongue, that tasted like blood and honey and fresh water and wood smoke. On the other, she would now be slowly suffering because of him and his impulse. He knew he had no control over it, when the moment felt right, he had always heard that.

He just wish he could have held off to discuss it with her. To ask her if this is what life she wanted to subject herself to. She already was sacrificing so much for him. He'd be damned if he asked her to sacrifice her humanity for him.

He closed the door, and rested his forehead against the wood, muttering out "fuck," and closed his eyes.


End file.
